


Point of Intersection

by thisismylastlie



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, parallel universe!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-19 04:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14866596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisismylastlie/pseuds/thisismylastlie
Summary: Jongin meets the Kyungsoo of Earth-88, a universe where he and Kyungsoo never debuted in EXO and are instead engaged. To each other.





	1. Day One

Jongin is frozen. He tries to command himself to move or to at least say something, but his body isn't responding. Instead, he stands there, eyes wide as a familiar pair gazes back.

Kyungsoo just kissed him. It wasn't a friendly peck, or a joking brush of the lips — it was an intense, lips locked and tongue brushing over his lower lip kiss that shut down Jongin's entire body, leaving only the parts of his brain responsible for stress working. He didn't know what to expect when Kyungsoo pulled away. Maybe a sheepish smile, an explanation that it was a prank and Chanyeol was filming from around the corner to catch his reaction? That would be upsetting, but also a relief, because it's the only sensible reason. 

But none of that happens. Instead, when Kyungsoo pulls back, he grabs Jongin's hand and beams up at him. It's now that Jongin notices that the man's hair is a deep red, the same as his Growl era hair. When did he dye it?

"Did you wait long?" Kyungsoo asks, swinging their interlocked hands back and forth as the younger stands there, dumbfounded. "Sorry I'm a bit late.”

"I— uh—" Jongin doesn't know what to say when Kyungsoo is staring at him with soft eyes and red lips swollen from their, ahem, kiss. He chokes on the saliva in his throat, before looking away to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" Kyungsoo asks, voice laced with concern as he puts an arm around Jongin's waist. "Your face is red. Did you run here?"

Jongin has actually been waiting at the studio for ten minutes now, playing on his phone as he waited for Kyungsoo so they could grab food together after the older's practice. If there was any sweat left from his own practice, it would've been dried up by now. Yet Jongin does feel hot at the moment, despite the air conditioner blasting in the room. 

"Jongin?" Kyungsoo's voice breaks the silence again, as he peers over at Jongin with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you okay? You're starting to worry me."

Jongin wants to ask Kyungsoo that too, but instead he manages to stammer out, "I-I'm fine. I just... didn't expect you to... uh, k-kiss me." He's embarrassed by saying it so bluntly, but if he doesn't address it he thinks he's going to go crazy.

He expects Kyungsoo to break out laughing now, tussle his hair, and say he just wanted to see how he'd react. Kyungsoo is an excellent actor after all, so maybe that's what this is: practice. But Kyungsoo is an even better actor than Jongin thought, because instead of doing any of that, he just reaches over and cups Jongin's face.

"Why not?" he asks, voice soft. Something about the look in Kyungsoo's eyes feels painfully intimate, and Jongin has to will himself to look away because he's never seen such a raw expression on his friend's face. "You know I love kissing you."

Jongin gulps audibly. "You-you love kissing  _ me _ ?" 

"Yes, you," Kyungsoo laughs, leaning over to press his forehead against Jongin's. His forehead is cool against Jongin's burning face. "You're so cute." He leans in for another kiss, Jongin holding his breath the entire time, when the door to the studio slams open and in walks a chatting Jongdae and Baekhyun.

"Wow, chill on the skinship," Jongdae calls over as Baekhyun whistles at them. 

Kyungsoo pulls away with a laugh. "I think that's the loudest I've ever heard you speak, Jongdae," he says with a smile. 

Jongdae and Baekhyun look at Kyungsoo, then at each other, then back at Kyungsoo.

"I'm sorry, are we talking about the same Jongdae?" Baekhyun asks, eyebrows raised. "The same Jongdae who literally spent the entire last night whining so loud that you came out of your room just to throw a pillow at his face?"

Now it's Kyungsoo's turn to look confused. "Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

"You were tired last night, so you probably forgot," Jongdae muses. "I think you woke up just to do that, then went back to sleep."

"No, what? We don't even live in the same block, how could I possibly do that?" Kyungsoo insists, shaking his head. "Are you guys joking around right now?"

Now it's time for Baekhyun and Jongdae to look at Jongin, who is still reeling from the kiss and skinship from earlier but is slowly following this conversation too. "Is he okay?" Jongdae asks, pointing to their vocalist.

"Seriously, what are you talking about?" Kyungsoo asks, crossing his arms. "I expected Junmyeon to joke around like this, but not you, Jongdae!" 

Jongdae's eyes widen at that. "I'm offended!" 

"Seriously, Junmyeon of all people? Please, his jokes are no match compared to mine," Baekhyun snorts.

Kyungsoo turns to Jongin now, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Tell them they're being ridiculous and this isn't funny."

"Yes, Jongin, please tell us that Kyungsoo is joking," Jongdae says.

"I'm not joking!" Kyungsoo exclaims, exasperated. He walks over towards them now, but falls back in surprise when Baekhyun and Jongdae start shielding themselves with each other, fists up and ready for a fight. "What are you doing?"

"Preparing ourselves," comes Baekhyun's serious reply.

"For what?!" Kyungsoo asks, incredulous. When the two don't reply and instead just stand there in their defensive pose, he turns to Jongin with a pout. Jongin has to blink twice to make sure he's not hallucinating it. "Jongin, they're bullying me!" he whines, and that's the final straw that makes Jongin realize that this is not their Kyungsoo.

But it is Kyungsoo, somehow. He has the same face, same eyes, same heart-shaped lips that apparently feel as soft as they look. Not that Jongin was ever wondering that before.

"Kyungsoo," Jongin whispers, finally finding his voice.

"Yes, Jongin?" 

He forces himself to breathe. "What am I to you?"

Kyungsoo blinks, surprised, but answers, "My fiancé, of course."

Jongin's heart races, but the sound is drowned out by the loud laughs of Jongdae and Baekhyun. 

"Okay, now we know this is a joke," Baekhyun says, wiping a fake tear. 

Kyungsoo spins around, glaring for the first time today and making him seem the most Kyungsoo-like since Jongin first saw him. "What are you talking about? You were at our engagement party. You literally helped plan the proposal."

That's when the laughter dies down, replaced by a thick silence that suffocates Jongin. Still trying to process what's happening, Jongdae is the next to talk.

"Kyungsoo, what was the date of our debut?" he asks, speaking slowly as he approaches the (un)familiar person.

"What debut?" Kyungsoo asks, frowning. "We never debuted."

All of a sudden, Baekhyun storms across the room, grabbing Kyungsoo by the shoulders and shaking him. "How could you even say that? What's wrong with you? Did you hit your head on something? How could you forget our debut date?" He sounds frustrated, but Jongin knows that he's actually scared. This doesn't make sense.

Kyungsoo yanks himself away, eyes glistening now. "Stop that! This isn't funny, I told you. We never debuted, and I thought we weren't going to talk about that! It's been years, I thought we moved on." He walks over to Jongin, grabbing his hand and pulling him close. Jongin feels the tension in Kyungsoo's body disappear as Kyungsoo holds him close.

"Please tell them to stop," Kyungsoo whispers, burying his face in the taller's shoulder.

Jongin swallows, carefully placing a hand on Kyungsoo's back. A gesture that is supposed to feel familiar suddenly feels foreign. "Kyungsoo..."

As if just that word alone conveys all that needs to be said, Kyungsoo pulls back, eyes glistening with hurt and betrayal. "What are you... why are you..." Then Kyungsoo lets go of his hand, and Jongin feels a chill but he blames it on the air conditioning.

Kyungsoo lets out a shaky breath. "You're not my Jongin."

Jongin shakes his head, even though the words hurt. 

"Then who— who are you? Who are all of you?" Kyungsoo asks, voice cracking. "And why do you look like them?" His eyes are welling up, but he hurriedly wipes away any moisture. 

Jongdae elbows Baekhyun, who walks over to Jongin and whispers, "I'm going to get our manager," before leaving the room. Jongdae follows, throwing confused looks at Kyungsoo as he leaves. Jongin can only watch until they're gone before he turns back to Kyungsoo, whose fists are balled and shoulders shaking.

"Kyungsoo..." he says, voice soft because the man looks like he's about to break. "Calm down. We'll figure this out."

"This doesn't make sense," Kyungsoo whispers, and he's looking everywhere but at Jongin. He turns, analyzing the room. "This is the studio. It looks exactly the same... I told him 5 o'clock. He's supposed to... you're even wearing his sweater... what's happening?" Kyungsoo collapses onto his knees, but when Jongin moves forward to help him, he just holds his hand up in refusal. "Don't."

So Jongin doesn't. They stand there in silence. Jongin isn't even thinking anymore, he just lets the clock tick behind him as he waits for Baekhyun and Jongdae to return with their manager. 

They do return. At first it's just two of their managers. They pick Kyungsoo up off the floor, despite his protests, and sit him down with a glass of water. They ask him question after question, and some of the answers do align, like when is his birthday or what was the name of his first pet, but others are completely different, the answer being too far off to make any sense for their Kyungsoo. Eventually they bring in more managers, and the EXO members are called into a meeting room to talk about the event. 

According to men in black suits with high-position jobs Jongin never heard of before, this has happened before, but never in SM. The most recent case had happened to a recently debuted female idol in a different agency, who woke up confused to find herself in a life she didn't recognize. The idols tend to switch with bodies from another Earth. They don't explain the entire story, or even say how many times it's happened before, but they do have a catalog of the different universes they come from, created after the first case. Based on the answers Kyungsoo gave them about his Earth's historical events, he comes from Earth-88. 

Despite their close watch of these cases, they don't have as many answers as Jongin or any of the EXO members would like. They say that the time it takes for each person to return to their original Earth is different, so they can't make any promises or even give any estimates. They don't know what causes the change to and from each Earth. 

It’s hard for the members to swallow.

“This has to be an elaborate prank,” Sehun says, arms crossed. “Come on, where are the hidden cameras?”

“I don’t know,” Jongdae admits, frowning as he places his elbow on the table and leans against his palm. “You didn’t see it earlier, but I don’t think Kyungsoo’s acting. He’s good, but not that good.”

They wait for Kyungsoo to argue or laugh or do something that their Kyungsoo would do, but he just stares at the walk, expression blank.

None of the members talk after that.

As the men in black and the managers continue talking in hushed voices, Jongin's eyes wander from the men in front of the meeting back to Kyungsoo, who's seated right at the edge of the table, looking small with his shoulders slacked and eyes downcast. He's playing with his fingers, and Jongin notices the gold ring. Right, this Kyungsoo is engaged. To him. 

“We will announce a short vacation for personal reasons for Kyungsoo tomorrow morning. Since we don’t know how long this will take, we don’t want to alarm the public. If we’re lucky, Kyungsoo will be back tomorrow morning.” But Jongin can tell they don’t sound hopeful.

The men originally request that Kyungsoo stay in a discrete location, so they may run tests and ask more questions about Earth-88, but Kyungsoo refuses.

"No. I want to stay with everyone." His voice is absolute, and though it looks like they want to argue, they don't say anything. Instead, they tell him they'll be checking up on Kyungsoo often and to stay out of trouble, or else their previous offer will become a demand.

Five hours after the kiss first took place, the EXO members are filing into a van back to their dorm. Kyungsoo is squeezed beside Jongin, and he tries his best to maximize the space between them but it's hard when there are so many people in a single vehicle. Sometimes Jongin notices Kyungsoo's hand inching towards him, but the man catches himself and brings his own hands close to his chest every time. Jongin bites his lips and stays quiet.

When they arrive back at the dorms, Kyungsoo is the last to exit the van. Jongin notices the hesitation in his steps and is about to place a guiding hand on his back to lead him to the door, when he stops himself. No, that would be confusing, he decides, considering how he — or some version of himself out there — is engaged to him. He doesn't want to give this Kyungsoo mixed signs. 

Instead, he matches Kyungsoo's steps and walks beside him. It's still quiet, all of the members either too tired or too shaken to say anything. All but one member.

"Is this building familiar to you?" Minseok asks, voice gentle as he falls in step beside Kyungsoo. "I know when they asked you for your address, it wasn't here, but... you look like you've seen this place before."

Kyungsoo nods, eyes looking over Minseok for a second for returning to scanning the building. "It's been a while since I was last here. This was, ah, the place we stayed at during our trainee days."

It's quiet again. After the meeting revealed that Kyungsoo was also a former SM trainee on his Earth, it didn't take long for Jongin or the rest of the members to piece together that this Kyungsoo didn't debut. Apparently none of the members did. When asked if Kyungsoo knew anything about a group named EXO, he shook his head before clarifying that SM did debut a 12 member girl group instead of the name ENDO with a similar concept. The air had grown awkward in the room at that point, as each of the members struggled with the idea of there being a reality out there where they hadn't debuted as a group.

As they file into the building, there is hesitance as to where Kyungsoo will stay. The dorm Kyungsoo shares with Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Minseok is on the 5th floor, while Jongin’s dorm is on the 3rd. It seems Jongin isn’t the only one to think about this, and how Kyungsoo may be uncomfortable staying alone.

“Kyungsoo,” Jongin speaks up. “You should follow Minseok and them. I’ll come after I grab my stuff.”

“We don’t live in the same dorm?” Kyungsoo asks, eyebrows furrowed. The other members aren’t meeting his gaze.

“No, we haven’t for a while,” Jongin admits. “But it’s okay. I’ll just wash up and then come up to the 5th floor. I won’t take too long.” 

There’s hesitance in Kyungsoo’s eyes, but if he wants to say anything, he doesn’t. He just nods and follows Minseok into a separate elevator, and Jongin watches until the door closes.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” comes Junmyeon’s voice. “You should just sleep in your own bed. He’s an adult, he can sleep in his own room for one night.”

“I know,” Jongin mumbles, holding the second elevator door open once it arrives so the older members can step in first. “But imagine if you were in his place. It’s probably scary, he’ll want a… a familiar face.”

Chanyeol snorts at that. “We’re all familiar faces. He knows our names.”

“You know what I mean,” Jongin groans, pressing the elevator button for the 3rd floor. 

“I do,” Junmyeon says, voice gentle. “But you shouldn’t feel pressured to take care of him just because…” He trails off, but Jongin knows what he means anyway. Just because he’s  _ with _ Kyungsoo on that Earth-88 or whatever. 

“I know,” Jongin repeats, but this time he sounds just a bit more confident than he feels. “But I’m also friends with the Kyungsoo of this Earth, and if he got lost… I would want someone to be there for him.”

It’s quiet after that. It seems the members understand him now.

Once they reach their dorm, Jongin is the first to grab his towel and head to the bathroom. He washes up quickly, even though the warm water feels so good on his aching muscles and he wouldn’t mind spending another minute savoring the feeling. 

After his shower, he packs up a toothbrush, a few skincare items, and clothes to wear to sleep. As he folds up the blanket on his bed to carry it upstairs, his mind wanders. 

Does he talk to Kyungsoo? Or would that just hurt the man, who's now separated from his fiancé while also having to face someone who looks and talks just like him? But he feels bad just leaving Kyungsoo alone. The rest of the members are obviously uncomfortable with his presence, and Jongin's not sure if that has to do with the whole he's-from-a-parallel-universe thing or if it's because in said parallel universe he's engaged to another man. Jongin worries his lower lip, hoping it's not the latter. 

With a heavy sigh, he stuffs his items into a tote bag laying around in his room. He bids the only one outside in the common area, Junmyeon, goodnight before heading to the elevators again.

When he makes it to the other dorm, Baekhyun answers the door. He doesn’t say anything; in fact, he just leaves the moment Jongin enters, heading to his own room. Jongin takes off his slides and heads over to Kyungsoo’s room.

There’s no answer when he knocks, so he peeks his head in. There’s no one inside. Figuring Kyungsoo is in the bathroom getting ready, he prepares a makeshift bed on the floor with his blanket. He’s setting up his phone charger when the door creaks open, followed by soft footsteps.

“Ah,” Kyungsoo murmurs, towel running through his hair. 

Jongin looks up. “Sorry, did you not want me in here? I just figured…” He trails off, uncertainty arising. Maybe this is too much for Kyungsoo.

“No, no, that’s not it,” Kyungsoo assures him, sitting on the edge of the bed slowly. “You’re fine.”

“Are you sure?” he asks, sensing the uncertainty in Kyungsoo’s voice.

“Yeah,” comes a more stern reply that sounds a lot more like the Kyungsoo Jongin knows. “This just reminds me of my own trainee days. It’s weird.”

Jongin nods. He bets. Even thinking of his own trainee days can make Jongin feel different, surprised that it was so long ago even if it feels just like yesterday.

“I’m sure you’re tired,” Kyungsoo continues. “Feel free to sleep whenever.”

“Mm,” Jongin replies, laying down now. He turns to his side, checking his phone. There’s a text from his sister, and he replies to it quickly, but then he notices the last message before that.

It was his message to Kyungsoo.  _ ‘coffee hyung?’ _ Jongin had texted Kyungsoo during his break at practice. It was the first message between them in a week, the last being a question Jongin had about an actor he was curious about and knew Kyungsoo would have the answer to. 

Ever since Kyungsoo’s acting career took off, he had seen less of the man. The only times they were in the same room was during concerts, practice, or recordings, and those didn’t really count to Jongin. It wasn’t for lack of effort either. Kyungsoo had texted Jongin last month if he wanted to practice together, just the two of them, but Jongin apologized because he had acting lessons that day. Jongin’s requests were met with similar apologies of a busy schedule.

The message that followed was  _ ‘when?’ _ Jongin’s answer, ten minutes later when he was able to sneak away back to his phone when the instructor was focusing on Sehun, was ‘ _ how does tomorrow sound? i’m done at 5 tomorrow’ _ He remembers the warm happiness he felt when the answer, less than a minute later, was  _ ‘that works. let’s get food too, i haven’t been to that chicken place down the road for a while.’ _

But what was supposed to be their long awaited catch up session was thwarted when a different Kyungsoo walked into the studio. Jongin swallows hard, before glancing up at the now sleeping Kyungsoo.

If their Kyungsoo was really in this Kyungsoo’s Earth instead, Jongin hopes he’s getting the rest he deserves too.

 

•

 

It's the middle of the night when he's awoken by coughing from outside. Jongin is usually a deep sleeper, but he found himself awake and out of bed anyway, following the source of the sound into the kitchen, where a tousled-hair Kyungsoo sat at the table holding a steaming cup.

"Couldn't sleep?" Jongin asks, voice groggy with sleep.

"It feels weird sleeping in a different bed," Kyungsoo replies quietly. Jongin hears the underlying 'without him.'

Jongin hesitates at the entrance of the kitchen, wondering if he should just go back to sleep and let Kyungsoo have time to think by himself. But the night is already lonely as is, and Kyungsoo must be even lonelier on a foreign Earth.

So he walks in and grabs a cup out of the cabinet. He pours himself a cup of warm water, and takes the seat across from Kyungsoo, trying his best not to let his eyes droop.

"You should sleep," Kyungsoo says, dropping his head. "I know you must be tired."

Jongin shakes his head. "It's fine. They cancelled my schedule for tomorrow since... you know."

"I don't get why though. You shouldn't have to sacrifice your time because of me," Kyungsoo mumbles, rubbing the cup in his hand.

"I offered," Jongin explains, trying to comfort the man. "Besides, it was just dance practice, and I already know the choreo. If anything, I can just practice here and I'll be fine." He offers a small smile, to which Kyungsoo doesn't respond.

It's quiet for a minute. Jongin's never heard the dorm sound so quiet, the refrigerator running the loudest source of sound now that everyone is asleep in their rooms. He can hear faint snores coming from one of the rooms.

"Jongin," Kyungsoo says, breaking Jongin's thoughts. "Could you — ah, never mind."

"What is it?" Jongin pushes gently. "You can ask me."

"It's just..." Kyungsoo takes in a deep breath. "Whenever I feel overwhelmed, Jongin would tell me a story."

"A story?"

"Yeah. Just— any story, really. Usually about his day at work." Kyungsoo finally smiles at that, and Jongin feels his stomach flutter. "I know you're not... him. But you have his voice, so if it's not too much..."

"Sure," Jongin replies, offering his own smile when Kyungsoo finally meets his eyes. He takes in a deep breath, trying to think of a story he could tell Kyungsoo. It helps that this is a brand new Kyungsoo theoretically, so he could tell this Kyungsoo just about any story and it would be new. But he wants Kyungsoo to feel welcomed, to feel at home even if he's nowhere near home.

"Ah, okay, I have a story," Jongin says, sitting up a little straighter. "I'll tell you about the time I met Monggu."

And so Jongin goes into a longer-than-necessary story about meeting Monggu at the animal shelter, and how he connected with the dog right away despite playing with so many other dogs that day. It's a story from his high school days, but he remembers it just like it was yesterday.

It seems to do the trick. Kyungsoo's shoulders relax, and the grip on his cup loosens. Jongin even goes back to the room to grab his phone and show Kyungsoo pictures of the day, followed by recent pictures of Monggu.

Kyungsoo doesn't make many comments throughout the story, but he speaks for the first time after seeing the picture. "That's Jjanguu."

Jongin raises an eyebrow at that, surprised. "I named— I mean, Jongin named him Jjanguu on your Earth?"

Kyungsoo nods, not taking his eyes off the picture. "We have another dog named Monggu though.” Upon noticing the look on Jongin’s face, Kyungsoo ventures, “I'm guessing you have another dog named Jjanguu?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Maybe our worlds aren't that different after all then," Kyungsoo says softly.

Jongin watches as Kyungsoo strokes the picture.

"Yeah, maybe not."

 

•

 

They eventually go back to bed. Kyungsoo wishes Jongin a good night before turning around to sleep on his side.

Jongin listens to Kyungsoo's steady breathing that indicates he's fallen asleep. The last time he remembers laying in bed and doing this was two months ago.

They had just finished watching a movie on Kyungsoo's laptop, some small indie film that one of Jongin's co-workers from his drama recommended he watch. It was a bit long and slow for Jongin's taste, but he could tell Kyungsoo enjoyed it from the fact that he didn't say a single word during the movie. And Jongin didn’t mind watching with him, because it had been so long since they got time to enjoy a movie, just the two of them. He missed this.

When it finally ended, Jongin told Kyungsoo he was just going to stretch his back before he went back to his own dorm. But Jongin's body betrayed him and he fell asleep right after he stretched.

The sun was filtering through the window when Jongin woke up. He reached over, trying to grab his pillow, when he's met with a warm body instead. His eyes flew open just in time to meet Kyungsoo's eyes, blinking heavy with sleep.

No words were exchanged. They stayed there, bodies still and eyes linked. Jongin knew he should get up, probably go brush his teeth since he forgot to last night, but he can't will himself to make any movements.

Jongin wondered what Kyungsoo's gaze was trying to tell him. He had never seen the older look at him like that before. He recognized parts of it, such as the fondness he'd seen countless times before when they would grab coffee together, or the amusement he'd be on the receiving end of when he would make a joke. But there was something else laced in there, something Jongin thought he understood but wouldn't make sense if that was what it really was.

Before Jongin could ask, if he ever even got the nerve to, Kyungsoo’s alarm went off. If Kyungsoo was about to say anything, Jongin didn't notice as he almost fell out of bed from the sound. Once he was out, he scrambled to his feet and rushed out of the room to the bathroom.

He told himself it was so he could rush back to his own dorm before anyone would notice his bed head. But if that was the truth, he wouldn't have avoided Kyungsoo's gaze for the rest of the day, afraid to see what he saw that morning again.

Now that Jongin's laying in bed, across the room from a Kyungsoo that is both familiar and unfamiliar, he wishes he hadn't been a coward and just said the words when it mattered. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many thanks to at1stsoo for reading this over for me [although I did edit it further/add scenes after she read it so if it has problems, that's my fault]!! <3


	2. Day Two

On another Earth, Kyungsoo wakes up with a jolt. His eyes flash around the unfamiliar room, heart pounding as he makes sense of this world all over again. He processes the pictures on the wall of him and Jongin-but-not-really-Jongin at places all over the world, smiling in some, staring off into the distance in others.

If this is a prank, it’s an elaborate one and no one is laughing.

“Good morning,” comes a familiar voice from the door. “I’m not sure if you’re like my Kyungsoo, but I made you coffee. Cream or sugar?” Jongin’s head is peeking from the side of the door, a soft expression on his face. For someone who’s lost his fiancé, he’s awfully calm.

“Just cream,” Kyungsoo finally says, voice groggier than he intended. He rubs his head before slipping out of bed and following Jongin down the hall to the kitchen. The hallway, just like the bedroom, has pictures of them with friends or family. He actually recognizes a few of the scenarios, like a selfie of them from their trainee days drinking bubble tea.

“My Kyungsoo takes sugar, so I guess there’s another difference,” Jongin hums as he pours the cream into a steaming mug and hands it to Kyungsoo, who’s standing at the counter.

“Thanks,” he sighs, taking a sip of the familiar liquid that woke him up every morning in the past. It’s comforting. “What time is it?”

“7. I didn’t think you’d be awake so early,” Jongin admits as he takes a sip of his own coffee. Kyungsoo watches in slight awe; the Jongin he knows hates coffee unless it’s filled with sugar, but he watched this Jongin pour his cup and drink it straight.

“I think I’m just used to waking up early,” Kyungsoo says. “Usually I have to be up by 5 to get to sets, so this is actually sleeping in for me.”

Jongin nods, holding the mug close to his chest. “Right. Where you come from, you’re an actor.” He chuckles, eyes on the counter now. “I would never have guessed, but I’m not surprised either.”

“You’re not,” Kyungsoo agrees. “You’re not surprised at all even though you should be. How are you so calm still? I thought you were just pretending yesterday.” Yesterday when Kyungsoo walked into the studio he was supposed to meet Jongin, to instead be met with a huge hug and a barrage of kisses from a different Jongin. That was… interesting.

“I’m actually scared,” Jongin assures him. “But… if you’re here, he’s probably in your world, right? That’s what makes the most sense.”

“I guess,” Kyungsoo sighs. “Not that any of this makes sense anyway.”

Jongin smiles at that, walking over to take a seat at the kitchen table. Kyungsoo follows. 

“Fruit?” Jongin offers him from the bowl in the middle. 

“Sure.” Kyungsoo takes an apple. He’s impressed. In this world, Kyungsoo and Jongin have an apartment and even a table where they keep a bowl of fruit in the middle, none of them rotten. They have coupons on the fridge, and a calendar listing all of their upcoming events. It’s nowhere near as full as Kyungsoo’s own calendar back home, but when Kyungsoo sees it, he feels so much more satisfied.

“I have to leave for work soon,” Jongin says, checking his watch. “But if you need me, just text me. You still have your phone, right?”

Kyungsoo nods. It’s a phone, at least. Not his though, but rather the other Kyungsoo’s.

“Great. I’ll be back by 5, and I’ll bring some dinner too. You should just relax today. I’m sure being an idol in your world is exhausting,” Jongin says, a slight smile on his face.

Kyungsoo would love to feel relaxed, but it’s a bit hard when you’re struggling with the idea that you’ve somehow transported into an entirely different universe. But there’s comfort in the familiar smile on Jongin’s face, so he allows himself to nod anyway.

“What should I do? What does, uh, Kyungsoo usually do?” He feels awkward talking about himself in the third person.

Jongin chuckles. “Well, he usually goes to work around this time, but I’ve called in sick for you, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Right. This Kyungsoo works at the senior center, teaching classes all day to seniors who may want to pick up music or take a class on gardening. Kyungsoo had laughed when he heard of his job in this world, but Jongin assured him this was no joke.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” Jongin speaks, voice somehow even softer now. “But it’ll be okay. You’ll be back home eventually.”

Kyungsoo frowns, staring at the shiny apple in his hand before looking at Jongin. “How can you be so sure? We don’t even know how or why this happened.”

Jongin stands up and walks over to the sink to put his now empty mug away. He rinses it, before turning around to Kyungsoo and offering him a kind smile.

“Things happen for a reason. This will work out the way it’s meant to.” Jongin speaks as if he’s not really there, as if he’s watching this happen to him instead of actually experiencing it. Kyungsoo wants to laugh. It’s so cliché.

“Right,” is what he says instead. What he really wants to say, though, is that things don’t work out like that. You need to make them happen. Fate won’t give you everything you need, it’s not that kind. 

But Jongin has hope in his eyes, and Kyungsoo can’t bear to take that from him. They say their goodbyes as Jongin leaves out the door, briefcase in hand. It’s a funny image, Kyungsoo thinks, because he’s seen that costume on Jongin back home before, but seeing it now as a reality feels strange. 

This reality  _ is _ strange.

Home alone now, without a schedule or things to do, Kyungsoo takes a bite out of his apple to occupy his mind. He wants to do something, because it’s been so long since he’s done nothing that doing nothing just feels wrong. 

“I wonder if this Kyungsoo has a good taste in movies,” Kyungsoo murmurs, walking over to the TV and the bookcase full of DVDs next to it. He scans through it, surprised to find so many horror movies (not that he minds, but he’s never been a big fan). He picks the first movie he actually recognizes,  _ Inception, _ and pops it into the DVD player.

It doesn’t do much but give Kyungsoo background sounds to listen to as he thinks. 

Yesterday was the most confusing day of Kyungsoo’s twenty five years of life. Even more confusing than his first trainee day, when he couldn’t find any of the rooms he was supposed to go to and there were too many other students for him to recognize anyone. 

The surprise and concern on Jongin’s face stood out to Kyungsoo. It was a familiar expression, and it was what made this reality so hard for Kyungsoo to process. The two grappled, arguing back and forth for a while as Kyungsoo especially insisted that Jongin stop joking, using cusses and punches to try and ‘coax’ Jongin to tell him the truth.

But Jongin was surprisingly patient as he waited for Kyungsoo to calm down. All it took was one request for Jongin to accept this reality. It had made Kyungsoo uncomfortable, but he eventually caved because it wasn’t as if Jongin hadn’t seen his body before, in between hurried group showers and costume changes for shows.

And once Jongin saw the area below his hip bone, he nodded and said, “You’re not my Kyungsoo. But you are Kyungsoo. So you must be from another world.”

That only infuriated Kyungsoo further though, as he rushed to punch Jongin again for joking with such a serious expression. 

Eventually Jongin had convinced Kyungsoo to follow him to what he called ‘home’, in an area that Kyungsoo was familiar with but at a building he hadn’t seen before. His jaw dropped when Jongin showed him the pictures on the wall, and brought out albums of everything they did together. It was at that point he realized this couldn’t be a joke.

It was almost midnight by the time Kyungsoo resigned himself to this reality, even though he was still doubtful in the back of his mind. He went to bed telling himself he would wake up from this dream tomorrow, but then morning came and the pictures were still on the wall.

Now Kyungsoo’s here, sitting on the couch and watching an old, but at least familiar movie. He reaches for the phone he placed on the coffee table, and sighed with defeat as his fingerprint unlocks it. There goes his doppelganger theory.

It feels like an invasion of privacy, because even though he is Kyungsoo, he isn’t _ this _ Kyungsoo. But he wants to know more about this world he’s stuck in for now.

The first place he goes is to the contact book. He’s pleasantly surprised to see Baekhyun’s name there. He then goes to search for the other members’ names, and finds all of them there. Hesitatingly, he clicks on Jongdae’s contact and goes to their messages.

Their last message was a week ago, Jongdae asking if he wanted to see a show with him and Junmyeon later that day. Apparently Kyungsoo had said yes. 

Clicking on the back button, Kyungsoo finds his way to his messages with Jongin, which is no surprise since it’s one of the most recent activities. It’s mostly texts from each of them describing their day as it happens, laced with ‘I love you’s and heart-eyed emojis. Kyungsoo is horrified by the lovey-doveyness of the situation, but powers through in an attempt to learn more.

Apparently he goes too far though, because he comes across an, ahem, scandalous photo that makes Kyungsoo exit and close the app right away.

Right. They’re a couple. Of course they would send each other photos like  _ that _ . 

Kyungsoo puts the phone aside, wanting to erase from his memories the texts that came with the photo. Dirty talk is so uncomfortable to witness. 

Apparently he’s more tired than he realizes, because after Kyungsoo finishes the movie, he falls asleep on the couch. When he wakes up a few hours later to drool running down his cheek, he gets up with a groan and realizes he hasn’t eaten a real meal all day.

He manages to make a quick meal out of the kimchi in the fridge and some instant ramen he finds in the cabinets. Judging by the grocery list on the fridge, they’re running low on foods at home.

Kyungsoo spends the rest of the day online, switching between watching videos and learning more about this Earth. It’s weird, he feels guilty for spending a whole day doing nothing even though there’s nothing he really can do.

When Jongin finally comes home with a bag full of Chinese take-out, Kyungsoo is happy to just have company again. Being an idol means that you’re always accompanied by someone, whether it’s your make-up artist or manager. Kyungsoo thinks himself an introvert, but he has gotten accustomed to having people around him.

“How was your day?” Jongin asks as he grabs plates from the dishwasher. Kyungsoo helps by taking the boxes out from the bag and setting them on the table.

“Shouldn’t I be asking that?” Kyungsoo replies, eyebrows arched. “You’re the one who actually went outside and did stuff today.”

Jongin shrugs, taking a seat across from Kyungsoo and handing him the chopsticks. “I did what I do everyday. The only difference was that I didn’t have Kyungsoo to text.” He breaks his own pair of chopsticks and reaches for the container of rice. “But you had an entire universe to explore today, I guess. Or not. Maybe you slept all day, wouldn’t blame you.” He looks up from the rice he’s piling onto his plate to smile at Kyungsoo.

“I did both,” Kyungsoo says, taking the rice from Jongin when he’s done. “I watched  _ Inception _ too. Glad that’s still the same at least.”

“Great movie,” Jongin agrees.

It’s silent as they each grab food to put on their plates. But Jongin is the first to speak again.

“So what’s it like, being an idol?” he asks, taking a bite of the stir-fried beef and broccoli. “Is it everything we imagined?”

Kyungsoo hesitates. “I’m not sure what you imagined, but I guess, it probably is.”

“Describe it to me,” Jongin says, and it’s a command but it doesn’t sound like one, with Jongin’s soothing voice behind it.

“Well,” Kyungsoo starts, chewing on his food to think a bit. “It’s as busy as you’d think. Schedules that fill the day from morning to night. I don’t get back til 1AM most days. Same for you, I think. And it’s tiring, obviously, but it’s also fun. Acting has been a nice change of pace recently. But still, nothing compares to touring and concerts. Performing on stage for the fans…” Kyungsoo allows himself a small smile. “It’s as amazing as you’d think.”

Jongin smiles at that. “I’m glad. It’s good to know that we got to debut in one reality, at least.”

Kyungsoo nods, but he still feels guilty talking about it to this Jongin, who also probably wanted this fate at some point. He recognized all the old dance trophies in the living room earlier, with Jongin’s names on them.

That’s why he hesitates when he asks the next question. “What happened?” He clears his throat. “I mean, it’s just that the Jongin I know, if he hadn’t debuted with SM, I think he would’ve just moved onto the next company.” Not that they ever talked about it, but Kyungsoo knows Jongin. He knows he would’ve debuted somewhere eventually, if SM hadn’t done it first. Jongin has a passion that needs to be shared.

Jongin nods, chewing. If he’s offended, it doesn’t show. “That’s what I thought too,” he admits. “But I didn’t have a say. It was either dancing or walking.”

Kyungsoo blinks. “What do you mean?”

“I got into an accident. Some driver wasn’t paying attention, hit me as I was crossing the street. It hurt, but I didn’t think it was a big deal.” Jongin speaks as if he’s said this story countless times and is just going through the motions again. “But then when I started dancing again, it hurt. A lot, like way more than it ever did. The doctors told me if I kept dancing, I wouldn’t be able to walk in a few years. Not a few decades, but years.”

Kyungsoo’s mouth feels dry. He’s hungry, but he doesn’t want to take another bite of food. He can’t tear his eyes away from Jongin, who continues to eat his own food without pause.

“It’s fine,” Jongin says, as if sensing Kyungsoo’s emotions. “That was years ago. I’m over it, mostly. Well, as over it as I can be I think. Sometimes I still dance, even though they tell me not to, but I can’t help it.”

Kyungsoo nods, and he moves to pick up another piece of beef but he can’t bring himself to put it in his mouth. “I’m sorry,” he finally says. “That really sucks.”

“It does,” Jongin agrees with a nod. “But again, it’s happened, can’t do anything about it now.”

It’s quiet again. Kyungsoo finally wills himself to eat more. Apparently Jongin is still a fast eater in this world, because he’s done within the next five minutes, leaning back in his chair, satisfied. 

“Do you have any more questions?” he offers, eyebrow raised. “I don’t mind answering any of them.”

Kyungsoo chews, thinking. He has a lot, but is not sure where to begin. His eyes wander around the room again, and Jongin notices.

“Do you want me to tell you how this happened?” Jongin asks. “Me and Kyungsoo, that is.”

Well, that is a simple way of putting it, Kyungsoo supposes. A lot of his questions were about the pictures on the wall and their homey set up in the apartment. He nods, and Jongin takes a sip of water before beginning.

“Well, we met when we were trainees. I actually thought he hated me at first, because he would glare at me every time I saw him,” Jongin chuckles, and Kyungsoo nods again. He knows this part.

“Same,” Kyungsoo says. Upon noticing Jongin’s surprised look, he clarifies, “I mean, the Jongin in my universe thought the same of me. I have bad astigmatism so I accidentally glared at him whenever I saw him.”

“Yeah, that’s what he told me too once I got to know him. He still teases me about it.” Jongin smiles. “Well, we became fast friends after that was explained, and we would go out to cafés after practice and just talk. We were best friends before the month was over.”

Kyungsoo’s stomach is doing strange things, making him wonder if the Chinese food here is the same as the one back at home. Otherwise he can’t explain what he’s feeling.

“At first I thought I was just really happy to be his friend,” Jongin says. “But then I realized that I hadn’t thought that way about anyone before. And then I had a big inner debate about what it would mean if I liked him that way, as another guy, but that’s a conversation for another time.”

“I want to know,” Kyungsoo tells him. “I mean, I would like to hear about that conversation.” Because everything leading up to here sounded just like his trainee days with Jongin. So what differed? Besides the obvious not-debuting, that is.

Jongin raises an eyebrow, but answers anyway. “Sure. I mean, it’s kind of hard to explain, since I’ve never had to before. But, and I’m not sure how your world is, South Korea isn’t exactly friendly towards people who like people of the same gender.”

Kyungsoo swallows. “It’s the same,” he manages to mumble.

“Yeah, so you get it,” Jongin sighs. “Deciding that I liked Kyungsoo as more than a friend was a big revelation that took lots of self-denial and doubt to get to. It was actually talking to my sister that helped me come to terms with it. She’s really open-minded, went to college in the U.S. and everything.”

“I see,” Kyungsoo murmurs, taking a bite of food when he has nothing else to say.

“But back to the story, I definitely wasn’t going to do anything once I figured out I liked him. I mean, if we became idols, I couldn’t do anything. But then my leg happened, and then three of our Chinese members’ visas got revoked, and I guess SM just decided that all these bad things happening at once was a sign they shouldn’t debut any of us.”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Kyungsoo says. “I mean, they invested time and money in us. Why didn’t Kyungsoo debut? Or like Baekhyun, or Jongdae?”

If Jongin is surprised to hear Kyungsoo knows them, he only shows it for a brief second before answering, “Kyungsoo told me he was offered a chance to wait to debut. They wouldn’t give him a solid timeline though, and he didn’t want to wait around for it.” He pauses, taking a sip of water again, before saying, “I never asked, but I think he was secretly relieved to not have to go through it anymore.”

Kyungsoo frowns. “What do you mean?”

“For my Kyungsoo, at least, he was getting real tired of practice,” Jongin explains. “I could tell he wasn’t getting rest, and that it wasn’t making him as happy as it once did. He actually told me, not that long ago, that once he found out about my leg, he was thinking of quitting. But he didn’t, and not that it mattered since they cancelled it.”

Upon noticing Kyungsoo’s troubled expression, Jongin assures him, “I know this might be hard to process. You probably don’t understand, and I don’t blame you. You’re not the same person, even if… you are the same.” He gives him a sheepish smile for the poor wording, but Kyungsoo does understand.

Because that was him after the first month of his trainee days. Tired and sleep deprived, Kyungsoo was on his way to talk to a supervisor about cutting back his training, even though he knew it would hurt his image and even jeopardize his chance to debut. But practices that once felt like seconds now felt like days to Kyungsoo and his body ached like it never ached before.

But before he could get to the office, he walked across a practice room where a dancer was practicing in, alone with the lights dimmed and music playing just loudly enough for Kyungsoo to hear from the hallway. Unable to help himself, Kyungsoo stayed and watched as the lone figure glided across the room, limbs elegantly moving to the music. He was entranced by the way the music moved through the man with thin arms and legs.

Kyungsoo wasn’t the only one to notice him either. A few other trainees soon came up and watched, and finally he turned to someone beside him and asked if they knew who that person was.

“You don’t know?” the trainee asked, surprised. “That’s Kim Jongin. He’s going to debut in the next group.”

Kim Jongin. The name sounded familiar. It’s possible he’d heard about him before but never saw him around. A few trainees had been around for so long that their names were famous within the walls of the SM building, even if they were still unheard of to the outside world.

When Jongin was done with the dance, he was panting and glistening with sweat. But there was something to his expression that tugged on Kyungsoo’s heartstrings. He recognized that look, even if it had been so long ago since he’d seen it on himself.

That look of passion, of fulfillment and pride of a job well done. Kyungsoo missed that feeling that he would get after hitting a note perfectly, or finally being able to replicate the dance the instructor would teach him. That feeling was now hidden under exhaustion, but he was reminded of it upon seeing Jongin’s face.

And so instead of walking to his supervisor’s office, he walked into the next available practice room and stayed until his mom called and forced him to go home.

He never told Jongin that story before. Kyungsoo likes to think he repaid his debt by feeding Jongin and taking care of him. But thinking back on it now, he makes a note to tell Jongin when, or if, he makes it back home.

“Are you okay?” Jongin asks, leaning in with a slight frown to look at Kyungsoo. “I think I lost you there for a second.”

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” Kyungsoo sighs, poking at his food now. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

“I was just thinking that there’s a lot of similarities between our two worlds. But I still don’t get how this one is so… different.”

Jongin nods. “Well, I haven’t gotten to the part about me and Kyungsoo yet. But after we both left SM, we decided to rent a place in Seoul together and find jobs. My parents wanted me back home, but I couldn’t do it. I was too ashamed.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Kyungsoo tells him.

“I know, but I can’t help the way I felt,” Jongin replies, and Kyungsoo is taken back by the maturity of his answer. “Anyway, I wasn’t planning to tell Kyungsoo I had a crush on him. I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable since we lived together. But apparently I’m not as subtle as I thought, because he confessed to me first.”

Kyungsoo chuckles at that. He’s glad that even the Kyungsoo in this world is as forward as he is. 

“And now we’re engaged!” Jongin finishes happily, and Kyungsoo almost chokes a piece of rice.

“Engaged?” he asks. He knew they were together, but he assumed it was just as partners, boyfriends.

“Did you not notice the ring?” Jongin asks, showing him his ring finger with a gold band around it. 

“I-I guess not,” Kyungsoo stammers. 

Jongin smiles at him, and begins cleaning up the table and combining boxes of food. “We’ve been engaged for a few months now. We want a winter wedding.”

“Winter?” Kyungsoo asks warily. That’s unique.

“January,” Jongin replies with a cheeky smile. “That way we can just dedicate the entire month to ourselves.”

Kyungsoo laughs at that. “Right. Well, I hope you get your Kyungsoo back before January then.”

Jongin tilts his head, but continues to pack up the boxes and place them in the fridge. “He’ll be back,” he says, voice confident. “Like I said, fate knows what it’s doing.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNBETA'D. Will come back to reread soon though. But for now, please enjoy some Kyungsoo and Jongin-88 action!  
> (If it's not clear, I refer to Kyungsoo and Jongin of Earth 88 as Kyungsoo-88 and Jongin-88 respectively, while Jongin and Kyungsoo in 'our world' or canon world are just their own names.)


	3. Day Three

Their Kyungsoo is still not back. Jongin manages to convince his manager to allow him to take half the day off, despite taking the entirety of yesterday off to keep Kyungsoo company. It was an uneventful day, as Kyungsoo spent most of it in bed. He seemed to be taking it even harder than the first day, so Jongin kept his distance.

Jongin had to wake up early today, so he hasn’t seen Kyungsoo all day yet. In between acting and singing lessons, he doesn’t have much time to think about the man either, even though he does slip in there every now and then because it’s hard not think of Kyungsoo when acting or singing.

When Jongin does finally return to the dorm, he’s surprised to find Kyungsoo talking to Baekhyun at the kitchen table.

"So what's the other Jongin like?" Baekhyun asks. “Is he completely different from this one? He has to be if you’re engaged to him right?”

“Um, excuse me?” Jongin interrupts with a scoff.

But Kyungsoo answers with a smile. “He looks just like this Jongin, but maybe a little more more good-looking”— he winks at Baekhyun —”He's a dancer too, but he works as an accountant to pay for our rent.” With a speculative look at Jongin, Kyungsoo continues, “I’m not sure how different you two are actually. Right now, I see a lot of similarities.”

Jongin raises an eyebrow at that. "Really? But you're different from my— I mean, this Earth's Kyungsoo."

"Am I?"

"Yeah. Kyungsoo here, he's a lot more aggressive. He would've beat me up that first day we met.” Baekhyun chuckles.

Kyungsoo's eyes widen. "I would never! I can't believe this Earth's Kyungsoo is a bully!"

Baekhyun bursts out laughing, and Jongin almost spits out the water he’s drinking. "No, no! He's not a bully. He just... doesn't take anyone's shit. Not even mine,” Jongin clarifies quickly.

Kyungsoo nods, still processing the information. "So, you and this Kyungsoo are not together?"

That depends, Jongin wants to answer. That depends on how you define together. Because to Jongin, they are together. They watch movies together, they take naps in between schedules together, they eat lunch together. They are together, even when they are apart, as they text each other funny pictures and videos of cute dogs. But Kyungsoo's definition of 'together' is different, and in that version, they aren't together. But those words sound wrong to Jongin.

"We're not a couple," Jongin settles for. "We're just best friends."

“Yep, that’s why they have so many fans who ship them,” Baekhyun adds, sticking his tongue out at Jongin’s glare. “What do they call you two? KaDi?”

“I guess,” Jongin mumbles, playing with the hem of his sweater. “I don’t pay attention to it though.”

“Your fans _ship_ you two together?” Kyungsoo asks, curiosity in his expression. “As in together, like a couple?" Jongin can tell by the smile that forms on Baekhyun’s lips that this is not going to end well for him.

“Did no one tell you? These two are quite a popular ship among our EXO-L’s,” Baekhyun sings, fishing his phone out of his back pocket. “Here, I’ll show you a few of their posts.”

Jongin groans. “Please don’t.” It’s so embarrassing, especially since this Kyungsoo actually is with Jongin on their Earth. He’ll probably find this silly.

Jongin busies himself with washing the dishes in the sink. He’s rinsing a bowl when he hears Baekhyun chuckle, “Ah, I remember when this blew up on SNS.” His curiosity gets the best of him, and he walks over to glance at what they’re looking at.

His voice becomes stuck in his throat when he sees the video they’re watching. He recognizes the scene, can almost feel himself in the moment again. Their eyes locked and Kyungsoo mouthed those words to him, and they shared a smile that they thought no one else was watching. He swallows the lump in his throat and goes back to the kitchen sink without another word.

“That’s so cute,” Kyungsoo finally says with a laugh. “I can't wait to tell Jongin— ah, my Jongin, that is."

Jongin nods even though Kyungsoo probably can’t see it, his back facing him. He feels the same. He wonders how Kyungsoo is, if he's where this Kyungsoo comes from. Jongin misses him. He hopes he's okay, hopes he isn't traumatized by the other Earth's Jongin trying to kiss him. He wants to tell Kyungsoo all about this, even though he's sure the man will know more than he does once he returns. He'll leave out the kiss though, because his cheeks warm every time he thinks about it.

“You’re much nicer than our Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun tells him. “Hey Jongin, how about we just keep this one instead?”

“No!” Jongin answers, maybe a bit too quickly, spinning around. “I mean, no. He wants to go back to his Earth, and we need our Kyungsoo back on this one.”

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at the dramatic reaction. “Relax, I’m just joking.” He turns to Kyungsoo before winking and saying, “Kind of.”

Kyungsoo laughs. “You are so different from the Baekhyun I know, it’s amusing. I mean, he’s funny too, but you’re a different kind of funny.”

“The best kind,” Baekhyun agrees. He stands up, pushing his seat back. “I have to go rally the troops now, before our manager gets upset. I’ll see you when I get back, Kyungsoo.”

“See you,” Kyungsoo says as the man walks to the room next door to grab Jongdae.

Jongin takes the seat that Baekhyun was occupying, ignoring how disgustingly warm it feels. “You look better today.”

Kyungsoo smiles at him, eyes as kind as the first day they met. Jongin is relieved that there is no dark cloud looming over him today. “I feel better. Baekhyun sort of dragged me into doing some chores with him, and it was nice having something to do.”

“Ah.” Jongin nods. “Well, I’m free for the rest of the day. Is there anything you’d like to do?”

There’s a moment of silence before Kyungsoo starts humming. “Maybe cook?” he offers. “I usually cook when I’m stressed.”

Jongin stands up and opens the fridge. There are leftovers, some kimchi, a lot of condiments, but no produce. He supposes he shouldn’t be surprised, considering they’re in the middle of preparing for a comeback so everyone’s too busy to even eat at home, but he sighs anyway.

“We’re going to have to go buy some groceries,” he says, closing the fridge. “Let me just grab a hat and a mask… you should do the same too.”

“Oh. Right,” Kyungsoo says, walking over to his room. “I forgot you can’t just go outside.”

“We can, but unless we want a new picture of us uploaded to SNS within the hour, we try to hide ourselves. And even then, there’s no guarantee.”

Kyungsoo nods somberly, pulling a baseball hat over his head. Jongin lends him one of his own masks when they get to his dorm, and then they head off to the nearest store.

“What do you want to cook?” Jongin asks, eyes cast downwards as they walk.

“I don’t have anything in mind. Is there something you want to eat?” Kyungsoo offers. “I’m a pretty good cook when I want to be.”

“If you’re anything like our Kyungsoo, I’m sure you are,” Jongin assures him. “How about kimchi spaghetti?”

Kyungsoo glances over, and even with the hat and mask on, Jongin recognizes the surprised look. “That’s my Jongin’s favorite too,” he explains.

“Glad to know I have good taste in both worlds,” Jongin jokes, and it earns him a laugh.

The store is only a block away, but as soon as they leave the building they’re flanked by fans. Whenever news leaks about a comeback, fans seem to flock to their dorm building, hoping to gleam a catch of a new hairstyle from their favorite idol. Jongin keeps his head low though, only raising it to watch for Kyungsoo.

“Wow, I didn’t realize this was your reality,” Kyungsoo murmurs in a low voice, careful of the fans that are getting a little too close for comfort. Jongin wants to tell him that this is actually relatively tame so some of his past experiences, but figures this isn’t the time or place for a story like that.

Once they get to the market, Kyungsoo knows exactly what he needs. Jongin follows close behind holding the basket of produce. He can’t remember the last time he went grocery shopping himself. It was probably during his last vacation, when he went home to see his family.

But this feels different. With his family, Jongin has to wait for his mom to go through each product and make sure it’s perfect. He has to stay and help his grandma finish reading the label on a tea product she wants to buy. He has to watch over his niece as she chooses which candy she wants, always torn between a gummy type and a chocolate type.

With Kyungsoo, it feels domestic. Like he’s a partner in this simple action of finding groceries for the next meal, rather than an accomplice on standby. He wonders if this is how Jongin on that other Earth feels, and bites his lips when he realizes he may be envious.

That doesn’t make sense. Jongin has nothing to be envious about. He has his own Kyungsoo in this world too.

 _But it’s not the same_ , a voice in the back of his mind tells him. Of course it’s not the same. Or else Jongin wouldn’t miss Kyungsoo even when he was in the same room as him, practicing their new song. Or else Jongin wouldn’t have to text Kyungsoo days in advance just to grab food with him. Or else Jongin could have told Kyungsoo as soon as he got a role in his first drama, instead of calling and calling just to get sent to voicemail each time.

The Jongin of Earth-88 doesn’t have to share his Kyungsoo. This Jongin can’t imagine a reality where he gets to be so lucky.

He doesn’t realize he’s been stuck deep in thought until Kyungsoo nudges him and he startles to realize he’s already at the cash register, with a nervous cashier telling him the price. Jongin fumbles to take out his wallet and hands the cashier his credit card.

“Are you okay?” Kyungsoo murmurs, voice low.

“Yeah, I was just thinking.”

“About?”

Jongin takes back his credit card and picks up the grocery bag. “Nothing.”

“You sure?” Kyungsoo bumps his shoulder as they walk out of the store, and Jongin sighs when he hears the squeals from a few of the fans. A picture of this moment will be uploaded somewhere online by the end of the night, Jongin is sure of it.

“Yeah, let’s just get back and make some kimchi spaghetti.”

The walk back to the dorm attracts more fans. Jongin does his best to ignore them, only giving them a small smile when he happens to catch someone’s eye by mistake.

“Is that red hair I see?! Ah!”

Jongin curses mentally. He had somehow forgotten that this Kyungsoo had a different hair color. Yikes, hopefully management doesn’t make too big of a deal over it.

“Kyungsoo, you’re so cute!”

It’s nothing new, Jongin probably hears the fans say that at least a few times a day. But it’s the way this Kyungsoo responds that gives Jongin pause.

“Thank you!” comes a happy reply. “You’re cute too!”

Jongin chokes, eyes widening as he hurries his pace and grabs Kyungsoo’s sleeve to pull him along. Luckily they’re already basically back to the dorm, and the security stops the fans from following them into the building.

“That was fun,” Kyungsoo chuckles as he presses the elevator button, smiling as he begins taking off his hat.

“Don’t!” Jongin pushes the hat back down. “They can still see us. Wait til we’re in the elevator.” His voice is strained.

“What’s the big deal? Did I do something wrong?” Kyungsoo frowns, peering up at Jongin. “You seem upset.”

Jongin sighs, placing his hands on his head in thought. “No, you’re fine. It’s just that Kyungsoo doesn’t really… react that way when fans call him cute. I was worried it would give it away.”

“I don’t think any of your fans, or even anti’s, would guess what’s really happening,” Kyungsoo says, a teasing lilt to his voice. But when Jongin only spares him a slight smile, he continues, “Sorry though. I just figured I should thank them for the compliments. I don’t mind being called cute, I mean, Jongin tells me that all the time.”

“Right. That makes sense. Sorry, I probably overreacted.”

“You’re fine. I understand why you’re worried about his image.” There’s a pause as the elevator arrives and they step in.

“I always wondered what it would’ve been like if we debuted,” Kyungsoo murmurs, leaning back as Jongin presses the button for the fifth floor. “I guess now I can stop wondering.”

Jongin raises an eyebrow. “You haven’t really experienced it yet. You’ve been holed up in here for the past three days.”

Kyungsoo pouts. “I got to be D.O. when I walked outside with you. That’s a unique experience in itself.”

He chuckles at that. “I guess. I mean, the real fun is being able to record and perform though, in my opinion.”

“Performing was my favorite part too. Nothing beat the thrill of hitting a note just right and seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces affirm you for it.”

“Yeah, I can see it on your— I mean, this Kyungsoo’s face. When he finishes singing, his face is always so bright. I can’t look away.”

Kyungsoo is looking at him with a curious expression that fades into a soft smile.

“When I was talking to Baekhyun earlier, he told me you were preparing for a comeback. How’s that coming along?”

Jongin shrugs, letting Kyungsoo step out of the elevator first before following. “It’s fine. I know the choreo already, just helping Junmyeon and Chanyeol with it now.”

“Actually, Baekhyun said — and I don’t know if he was just joking about it but — he said that they might ask me to fill in for Kyungsoo. Like during the recordings.”

Jongin is quiet as he unlocks the door.

“Did he?”

“Mm. He said if Kyungsoo doesn’t return within the week, they’re going to have me come in to the studio and sing his parts. I told him I wasn’t sure about that though. I haven’t really sang for an audience in years.”

“Then don’t do it,” Jongin says, placing the groceries on the kitchen counter. “If you’re uncomfortable, don’t do it.”

“I feel bad though. I’m slowing all of your progress down. And I could try it if—”

“No,” Jongin interrupts him, hoping his voice isn’t too curt. He clenches and unclenches his fist. “It’s not- it’s not your fault. And it’s not your responsibility to sing his parts.”

And the truth is, Jongin is uncomfortable with the idea of anyone but their Kyungsoo singing his parts. Sure it would help speed up the process, and this Kyungsoo probably sounds just like theirs so it wouldn’t be very noticeable, but still. It feels wrong to Jongin, unfair to Kyungsoo.

“It was just a thought,” Kyungsoo reiterates. “Who knows if it’ll actually happen.”

“I hope not,” Jongin admits. He freezes, realizing he may be coming off as hurtful. “I mean, I’m sure your voice is as beautiful as our Kyungsoo’s. But it’s not…”

“The same,” Kyungsoo finishes for him. “No, I understand.” He begins taking out the pot to boil the water for the spaghetti.

Jongin watches as Kyungsoo gets the ingredients ready. He offers to help, but Kyungsoo shoots him down with a gentle smile. He’s on his phone, thinking of what to do as he passes the time.

“So what do you and, uh, Jongin usually do in your free time?”

Kyungsoo shrugs as he turns the stove on. “Cuddle, watch movies, eat. Normal couple stuff I guess.”

“We could do that too,” Jongin offers, before stammering once Kyungsoo gives him a confused look, “I mean, as friends! I-I just figured you missed him, so you would want to do something you usually do with him.”

“Thank you, Jongin, but it’s fine.” Kyungsoo salts the water. “What do you usually do in your free time? If you get any, that is.”

“I don’t really,” Jongin admits. “And I usually go home for vacation. But if I have any free time to kill in between schedules, I’ll just skim through SNS and read stuff. Kyungsoo sends me interesting articles he reads too, so I’ll look at those.”

It’s quiet again when Kyungsoo doesn’t reply. Jongin fidgets in his seat, tapping his foot against the floor and his fingers against the table. He’s running through other things he could talk about, but a lot of his go-to small talk options center around current events and he’s not sure how many of theirs overlaps with Kyungsoo’s Earth’s.

It doesn’t matter though, because the silence is soon filled with soft melodies. Jongin spins around to see Kyungsoo singing under his breath as he cuts the kimchi. He really does sound the same. Maybe a little less smooth, but it’s still the same rich voice that Jongin is hypnotized by after every performance.

“You sound great,” Jongin comments once the singing dies down. “You sound like him.”

Kyungsoo smiles, stirring the pasta. “I’m sure he sounds better.”

“Maybe,” Jongin admits. “But that’s because he’s gotten a lot of practice over the years. Have you?”

“No. There’s no need to.”

There’s hesitance but Jongin pushes past it. “What happened? That you couldn’t debut?”

Kyungsoo freezes in front of the stove, back facing Jongin. It’s quiet for a moment, before Kyungsoo resumes his actions again. “Nothing that we could control.”

“What do you mean?”

But Kyungsoo doesn’t reply. Instead, he strains the pasta and rinses it. Jongin watches as he prepares two plates of food, actions identical to ones he’s seen before, and brings them over to the kitchen table.

“Eat up,” Kyungsoo tells him with a soft smile. “You’ll need the energy for tomorrow.”

Jongin mumbles a thanks before taking the first bite. It tastes like their predebut days, when Kyungsoo would have the time to make a meal for everyone. Jongin remembers fighting with the members over who could get seconds, and Kyungsoo punching each of them before giving the last two plates to Jongin and Sehun, calling them ‘growing boys.’

Their group dinners are now few and far between; with all of the members having different schedules now, it’s lucky if they can even get four of them at one meal together for longer than half an hour.

“Does it not taste good?”

Jongin blinks and looks up. “No, it’s delicious. Why?”

“You looked upset,” Kyungsoo comments. “I thought maybe I didn’t cook as well as you’d thought.”

“No, really, you’re… just like him. It’s kind of scary, actually,” Jongin admits, biting his lower lip as he twirls the spaghetti with his chopsticks. He expected to see more differences between this Kyungsoo and theirs as time progressed, but instead he sees more similarities, like the way they watch YouTube as they brush their teeth, or when they kick their blankets off in their sleep.

“Why is it scary?” Kyungsoo asks with a laugh. “Shouldn’t that be good?”

It should be. This is the most time he’s spent with Kyungsoo in weeks, even if it’s not really his Kyungsoo.

But it feels wrong, because he knows this isn’t really their Kyungsoo. “It’s just confusing,” Jongin finally says.

“Confusing,” Kyungsoo repeats. “Do you want to elaborate?”

“Not really,” Jongin says with a sheepish smile. “I don’t really know what I’m saying myself.”

Kyungsoo stares at him for a second too long, and Jongin wonders if he’s seeing right through him. It feels like it. He feels naked under those eyes, the way his Kyungsoo makes him feel exposed whenever he tells even the slightest of lies.

But then Kyungsoo goes back to eating. Jongin lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and takes another bite himself.

When Jongin gets up to grab a cup of water, he accidentally twists around too fast, sending a sharp pain shooting up his already aching hip. He stumbles backwards into his chair with a groan, and Kyungsoo is crouching by his side before he can even register that something’s happened.

“Are you okay?” Kyungsoo asks, alarm clear in his voice. “Did you hurt yourself?” He prods at Jongin’s legs with soft touches.

“I’m fine,” Jongin mumbles, slowly pushing the hands away. “I’ve been having problems with my hip lately, I just turned around too fast.”

“You should be more careful,” Kyungsoo chastises, voice stern and he sounds exactly like their Kyungsoo in this moment. “You’re too young to have hip pains. Have you seen a doctor?”

Jongin raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t argue. He’s heard this all before. “Yeah, they said it’s fine, I just need to make sure to stretch and let myself rest after long practices.” When Kyungsoo is still frowning, not even meeting Jongin’s eyes because he’s too focused on Jongin’s hip, he assures him, “I’m fine, really.”

“That’s what you said then too,” Kyungsoo bites. He finally stands up, his breath shaky. When he meets Jongin’s eyes, something in him softens. “Just be careful, okay?”

There’s more than he’s saying, but Jongin doesn’t push it. “Okay,” is all he settles for.

Kyungsoo ends up grabbing him the water and a bag of iced string beans from the freezer. Despite Jongin insisting he’s fine, he was just shocked by the pain, Kyungsoo insists on helping him to the couch.

“You’re 24 but you still remind me of him when we were teenagers,” Kyungsoo sighs, helping Jongin lay his leg out.

“Hey, I’ve matured too,” Jongin defends. “Just in a different way, probably.”

“Not probably, definitely.”

Jongin pouts. “Well, it’s not like I had a boyfriend to support me these past few years. Of course I’m going to be different.”

When Kyungsoo doesn’t respond, Jongin turns to look at him. He gulps, realizing he may have said something he didn’t quite understand the impact of himself.

“You and your Kyungsoo are just friends?” he asks, and Jongin finds himself swallowing a gulp of air.

“Best friends.”

Kyungsoo seems to be in thought. Jongin doesn’t want to know what he’s thinking about, too busy trying to quiet his own screaming mind. He grabs the remote control for the TV and turns it on to the first channel available, a sappy Korean drama rerun. He doesn’t recognize any of the characters, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a distraction.

No one says anything. Jongin lets out a breath of relief when Kyungsoo finally leans back in his seat and resorts to watching the TV with him. It’s not until the door opens and in file Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Minseok that he gets up to greet them and offer them kimchi spaghetti.

“Wow, I haven’t had this in a while.” Jongdae whistles. “Shoulda known you would make this no matter what Earth you’re on.”

“It tastes great,” Minseok compliments gently.

“What’s up with Jongin?” Baekhyun asks.

“He hurt his hip. You should make sure he doesn’t overwork himself.”

Jongdae snorts. “No one can make Jongin do anything. But I’ll pass the message along to Kyungsoo when he returns if that’s what you want.”

Jongin sinks further into his seat as the other members make small talk with Kyungsoo. It seems they’ve gotten used to his presence in the last three days. While the other members haven’t made much of an effort to check up on Kyungsoo, Baekhyun at least draws Kyungsoo into each conversation they have as a group. Eventually Jongdae warms up to him too, and Minseok, well, Jongin figures Minseok was at the very least welcoming to Kyungsoo from the beginning, even if it started out awkward.

When Kyungsoo excuses himself to wash up, and Baekhyun and Jongdae go to their rooms, Minseok takes the seat beside Jongin.

“How’s the hip?” he asks, tapping gently on the area.

“Fine,” Jongin mumbles. “Kyungsoo was just surprised is all.”

“Yeah, because he cares about you,” Minseok reminds him.

“He cares about a version of me on a different planet,” Jongin corrects, trying not to let that ugly emotion from earlier today seep back into his words.

“Even if that’s the case,” Minseok acknowledges, “the Kyungsoo from this planet cares about you too. And I’m sure he won’t be happy if he comes back to know you’ve hurt yourself so badly you can’t perform.”

Jongin sighs. He hates that Minseok has a point. He’s been lectured by Kyungsoo one-too-many-times about taking care of himself. Even if they rarely see each other, Kyungsoo will send him a text now and then asking if he’s making sure to stretch like the doctors told him. Jongin’s not sure who’s been snitching, but he has a feeling it’s Sehun.

“Let me know if you need anything, I’ll be in my room,” Minseok says, patting his leg before leaving.

That would be a nice offer if Jongin only knew what it is that he needs.

An image of a heart-shaped smile and crinkling eyes flash in his mind, but he shakes that out of his system. Of course he wants Kyungsoo back, that makes sense. He wants his fellow member, his best friend back. Jongin has so many stories to share with him.

From the bathroom he can hear a YouTube video playing alongside the sound of teeth being brushed. There’s a quiet laugh that carries into the living room, and Jongin tries his best to ignore the pang in his chest and instead focus on the TV screen.

It would be nice if his problems could also be resolved in less than an hour and a half.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, another unbeta'd chapter. Come @ me bro.  
> This chapter was oddly hard to write. I thought I would have more fun with Jongin's chapters, but I think I actually am enjoying writing Kyungsoo's more! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Day Four

Kyungsoo can name a few differences between this Jongin and the one back home. This Jongin cooks his rice just right, can play the guitar because he self-taught himself two years ago, and always keep a polite distance from Kyungsoo when they sit on the couch. He answers the phone with a quiet, “Hello,” and ends the conversation with, “Take care.” He lets Kyungsoo take the bed as he sleeps outside on the couch, despite Kyungsoo insisting it be the other way around.

They’re small differences, but they’re  _ different _ , and Kyungsoo finds himself holding onto these differences. Otherwise it is much too easy for Kyungsoo to look at Jongin and expect to see him twirl his way over to Kyungsoo with the same playful grin he gives him at home. And right now, in this apartment with pictures of the two of them all over the walls, that’s an image that’s too hard to swallow.

“What would you like to do today?” Jongin asks as he places the cart of milk on the kitchen table. “We can do whatever you want.” It’s Saturday, Kyungsoo’s fourth day here. Kyungsoo resigned himself to this reality on day three, after yet another failed attempt to find anything about idol boy group EXO on the internet. 

Kyungsoo pours the milk over his cereal. He hasn’t been out of the apartment since his first day there, since Jongin has had work everyday and Kyungsoo didn’t feel the need to leave by himself. The past few months have been jammed full of schedules, long van rides, and quick naps in between. Though it felt weird at first, Kyungsoo quickly came to enjoy time to himself in one place.

“What’s there to do?” 

Jongin hums in thought as he takes a bite out of his apple. Another difference: the Jongin back at home would have preferred a banana in the morning. 

“Usually Kyungsoo and I watch a movie when we want to do something special.”

“Any good movies out right now?” 

Jongin shrugs. “If your taste is anything like his, nothing you would like.”

Mulling it over as he chews on his cereal, Kyungsoo remembers one of his favorite vacation spots he would go to whenever he did get a rare day off to himself. 

“How about the beach?”

Jongin looks up from his phone, a twinkle in his eye. “It’ll be cold,” he warns, but there is no pressure behind his voice. 

“That’s fine.” Kyungsoo just wants to hear the familiar, comforting sound of waves crashing into the shore.

“Okay, we can drive over after breakfast,” Jongin says, standing up. “I’ll get a beach mat ready.” 

Kyungsoo watches as he disappears into a room down the hallway. There’s another difference. Kyungsoo is 99% certain that the Jongin back at home wouldn’t act so calm if something like this happened. If that Jongin woke up to find his fiancé replaced with the same person but from a different universe, he would worry his head off day in and out. 

In fact, Kyungsoo wouldn’t be surprised if Jongin is worrying about him too, and they’re not even engaged.

After finishing his cereal and washing the bowl, he and Jongin head out. Jongin has a tote bag hanging on his arm, one hand holding the keys to the car and apartment and the other holding a bottle of water. 

Once they’re in the car, Jongin tells him it’s about a 30 minute drive to his and Kyungsoo’s favorite beach.

“I don’t mind, as long as your music taste is okay.”

Jongin laughs at that as he pulls the car out of the parking spot. “I would like to think we have pretty good taste in music, but see for yourself.” Kyungsoo scrolls through the music on his phone, but he doesn’t recognize a lot of it. He can’t tell if that’s due to the whole different universe situation, or just a different taste in music, so just selects a random song.

After a few seconds into the apparently R&B song, he comments, “Not bad.”

Jongin glances over and gives him a slight grin. “Glad to have your seal of approval.”

“Treasure it, I don’t give it out to anyone.”

That earns another chuckle. 

Kyungsoo lets the song finish before he speaks again. “Could I ask you another question?”

“Of course. No need to ask.”

“How did you know I wasn’t your Kyungsoo?” he asks, watching Jongin’s calm expression stay unchanged. “You look so confident even though none of this makes sense.”

Jongin nods once, eyes never leaving the road. “None of this makes sense, I agree.”

“So how are you so sure? I mean, how did you know I just didn’t have amnesia and forget about you?” Kyungsoo presses, eyebrows furrowing more the longer he speaks. Because Kyungsoo knows he’s out of place because he spent days on the Internet searching for signs only to find a completely different world, but to Jongin, it’s just his fiancé that’s different.

“Remember how I asked to see your hip bone?” 

“Yeah. Were you looking for something?”

Jongin nods. “A tattoo, actually.” 

Kyungsoo tries to keep his expression calm, but he’s sure his eyes must be bulging. 

“I can show you mine later,” Jongin offers. “It’s in the same spot too. Well, his is on the right and mine is on the left, but same area.”

Kyungsoo swallows. “What’s it of?” 

“A rose,” Jongin says, a smile adoring his lips now. “It’s cheesy, but we got it when we were trainees, a long time ago. We were joking about getting one, and then we realized we totally could.”

“Your supervisor didn’t yell at you?” 

“Oh, he did. He made us practice for an extra two hours a day for two weeks. But in the end, we got to keep it because it wasn’t in a visible place.” Jongin taps on the steering wheel along to the melody on the stereo, but Kyungsoo has tuned it out by now.

“Why a rose?”

Jongin hums, tilting his head to the side as if he’s remembering. “It’s pretty,” he finally says. 

Kyungsoo blinks. “That’s it?” 

“Yep,” Jongin says, letting his lips make a popping sound on the ‘p.’ “Why?” he asks, glancing at Kyungsoo out of the corner of his eye with a teasing look. “Did you expect a more meaningful explanation?”

“No, it’s just… nevermind.”

The younger glances at him again, but doesn’t push it, to Kyungsoo’s relief.

“Do you want hear the story of how Kyungsoo and I got lost in Tokyo?” 

Kyungsoo does not expect that. “Uh, sure.”

Jongin goes into a long-winded story of how their first vacation together out of the country was to Japan because of Kyungsoo’s love for an anime about tennis players (it’s not called  _ Prince of Tennis _ , but the plot sounds a lot like it to Kyungsoo). They were visiting a temple, and Kyungsoo’s phone ran out of batteries while Jongin had forgotten his phone all the way back at the hotel. 

“We tried talking to the locals, but I have never taken a single Japanese class and Kyungsoo was totally blanking because of how nervous he was. It was so cute.”

The story does its job of helping Kyungsoo forget his own thoughts. This Jongin is just as enthusiastic in his storytelling as the one back at home, voice raising each time he remembers a new fact about the story to tell. Kyungsoo watches with amusement and a bit of endearment as Jongin speaks.

When they arrive at the beach, it’s empty because it’s not exactly a popular spot in the beginning of winter. Not that Kyungsoo minds; he wasn’t planning on going into the water, aside from maybe dipping his toes in.

“Have any beach stories?” Kyungsoo asks after Jongin has set the mat down on the sand.

Jongin thinks for a moment before answering, “Once I lost my sandal in the ocean.” When Kyungsoo sees Jongin’s overly serious expression, he laughs.

“You remind me of him,” Kyungsoo admits when he’s done laughing. “There are some differences, but at your core, you remind me of him.”

“Why do you say that as if it’s a bad thing?” Jongin asks curiously, taking a seat across from him.

That wasn’t intentional. Kyungsoo was just saying what he was observing. But he can’t deny it, because even he could hear the resentment in his voice as he was saying those words.

“Because it makes me think of things I don’t want to think about.” 

Jongin nods as he stares off into the water. “Care to elaborate?”

He lets out a long breath. Honesty can’t hurt. Not in a world that isn’t his own. “The other day, when you were telling me about your trainee days, they sounded a lot like ours too. Aside from the obvious differences,” he says, eyes wandering to Jongin’s legs without meaning to. Luckily the man doesn’t see. 

“And, well, I just — this entire time, I thought that the only world Jongin and I could be together in would be one where we were never even trainees. One where we meet in college or something, when exploring is more acceptable.” Kyungsoo plays with the frays on the mat. “So to find out that there’s a world out there where we are together, and we’re not even that different from the one I live in? That’s. Tough.” He frowns, chewing on his bottom lip. “It’s a lot to process, I guess.”

“I see,” comes Jongin’s gentle words. He’s looking at Kyungsoo now, but Kyungsoo doesn’t want to look. He doesn’t want to see what those eyes are trying to tell him.

“How long have you felt that way?” Jongin asks. 

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo admits. “I don’t really remember when I started… feeling differently about him. I just know that one day I looked at him and something hurt, but I couldn’t look away.”

Jongin pats Kyungsoo’s knees, shocking the older. It’s one of the first times he’s initiated contact since that first day. 

“That’s love for you,” Jongin says, voice almost lost in the breeze. “It just happens and then you can’t forget about it.”

It’s so poetic it makes Kyungsoo want to punch him, but he refrains because this isn’t his Jongin. After seeing the horrified look on Jongin’s face that first day when he punched him for what he thought was a prank, Kyungsoo pieced it together that this Kyungsoo likely didn’t use physical violence as often as he did.

“I’m guessing you never told him.”

Kyungsoo would laugh if it didn’t feel like his heart was going to jump out of his throat. 

“No. I was in denial for a long time, just like you.” A pause. “If I’m being honest, I still was in denial up until this happened.”

Jongin nods understandingly. “Denial is easier to deal with.”

“Barely,” Kyungsoo mutters. What’s actually easy is just ignoring the problem altogether, and that’s become easier with time as Kyungsoo’s schedule becomes more and more crammed in with filming and recording.

“ _ Will _ you tell him? When you get back?”

Kyungsoo feels the grains of sand slide between his fingers. “I can’t.”

It’s silent. The waves crash against the shore but the sound is so much harsher than Kyungsoo remembers.

“I know that earlier I said that if we became idols, I wasn’t going to say anything to Kyungsoo,” Jongin begins. “But if I knew then what I know now… I would take that risk. Even if we became idols.”

Kyungsoo purses his lips. “You say that because you aren’t an idol.”

“Maybe. But I know what it’s like even if I didn’t debut. I was a trainee for over six years, I was practically an idol within SM’s trainees.” It’s not bragging if it’s true. “I know what it’s like to feel judged by people who don’t know you.”

Kyungsoo opens his mouth to speak, but Jongin continues, “And before you can say it, I know it’s different.” He shuts his mouth into a frown. “But it’s the same concept, a fear of what others will think and say.”

“It’s not just that,” Kyungsoo interrupts with a huff. “It’s not just what they’ll think. I don’t care what they think. It’s what they’ll  _ do. _ They already get upset when we look at someone the wrong way, imagine the threats we’ll get if this gets out? We’ll lose our jobs.” He shakes his head. “We’ll lose everything.”

“And over what? A stupid crush?” Kyungsoo barks out a laugh. “That’s not worth it.”

“But what if he feels the same,” Jongin insists. “Don’t you want to know?”

“No. I don’t,” Kyungsoo tells him, and it’s the truth. He doesn’t want to know what Jongin’s lingering glances mean, what the gentle touches on the back of his neck when he’s tired could imply. He doesn’t want to know anymore about a future he cannot have. “Because it doesn’t matter. I’m not going to ruin both of our lives over feelings.” 

Kyungsoo crosses his arms, taking in a deep breath. He’s done with this conversation.

But Jongin has his own last words to say.

“But feelings are all we have.”

They spend the rest of their trip in silence. Kyungsoo steps away to stand near the water, hoping to take his mind off their conversations. When he comes back, Jongin tells him there’s a good food vendor nearby and they head over for a late lunch.

On the ride back, Kyungsoo’s mind wanders back to the tattoo Jongin had described earlier. A rose, he had said. Kyungsoo remembers a brief conversation he had with Jongin in the comfort of a dimly lit dorm, both of them hiding under blankets with their phones, showing each other photos.

“What if I got a tattoo?” Jongin had asked after showing Kyungsoo a picture of a dainty tattoo of the sun on a woman’s wrist. 

“It’d look good on you,” Kyungsoo told him. “But they’ll kill you if they find out.”

“They don’t have to find out,” Jongin joked. “I could get one on my butt or something.”

Kyungsoo laughed. “You wouldn’t. You can barely handle getting the flu shot on your arm.”

But Jongin pretended that he didn’t hear him, instead Googling tattoo ideas. “What would be a good tattoo? Oh, how about this one?” He clicks on a photo of a symmetrical shape. It was nice to look at, but Kyungsoo couldn’t see it on Jongin.

“Nah, you should do something more natural. Maybe a flower,” he teased, still thinking it was a joke.

He was surprised when Jongin agreed without arguing, “I like the sound of that. What kind of flower?” 

“No way. You’re not getting a tattoo,” Kyungsoo insisted.

“But what if I did!”

“Please, I’m so confident you won’t get one that I’ll promise if you get one, I’ll get one too.”

“I’m going to make you eat your words, Do Kyungsoo,” Jongin said before tackling Kyungsoo with a pillow in an attempt to smother the older man, who pushed back laughing.

But Kyungsoo was right. Jongin never got that tattoo, and it was never mentioned again after that single conversation.

Yet in this world, that tattoo from a long forgotten conversation became a symbol of truth for Jongin, a signifier of his lover.

Back at the apartment, Jongin is brushing his teeth when he rushes out and knocks on the bedroom door. Kyungsoo answers warily, still tired from the day’s events, when Jongin pulls down the waistband of his boxers and reveals a slice of skin just below his left hip bone. There it is. It’s smaller than he expected and shaded in, and without thinking Kyungsoo reaches out to swipe a finger against it.

It’s nothing like he had imagined, and yet it’s perfect.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To no one's surprise, this is UNBETA'D. I think I'll just go back and to edits at the end at this point. This is a shorter chapter but definitely a more packed chapter in terms of ~emotions~ wowowow
> 
> I had so many ~thoughts~ going into this fic, both planning and writing it, but I’m really tryna keep them to myself so you can interpret them to your own liking!! but I may write a post about them anyway and link it in a later chapter for those curious :) there’s definitely a lot of… nuances (?) i have to keep in mind as I write this fic, which while frustrating to plan is rewarding once it works out!
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please feel free to share any thoughts you have. There really is no right way of writing this fic (or any fic set in some sort of canon universe), so I would love to hear if yall agree/disagree/question my choices heheh


	5. Day Five

Jongin makes sure Kyungsoo stands beside him as they walk through the entrance of the SM building. Whenever it looks like someone is going to talk to him, he pulls him into a whisper just to deter anyone from approaching them.

“Just look busy,” he says into Kyungsoo’s ear, and the shorter man nods once, his expression the image of seriousness.

The entire situation has been kept under wraps, as the members were told to keep hush and only select SM executive staff members were alerted of, what they termed, ‘the intersection.’

Because it’s now day five without any sign of a switch back, the men in black wanted Kyungsoo to come in to answer more questions in case he knew anything. Jongin insisted Kyungsoo knew nothing more than what he told them that first day, but he was pushed aside and their manager grabbed Kyungsoo. Unable to do anything, Jongin insisted he come along still. Before they could argue, Jongin explained he had to go to SM anyway for practice.

As he filed into the van beside Kyungsoo, by his ear he heard a gentle whisper, “Thank you, Jongin.” Jongin refrained from reaching out and squeezing his hand, despite how right it felt in the moment.

And now they’re approaching the elevator, and two men wearing security head pieces and sunglasses are standing in between Jongin and Kyungsoo. Jongin tries to push in between, but they don’t budge.

“You can’t come any further,” his manager tells him. When he can tell Jongin is about to object, he says, “You can wait for Kyungsoo in the practice room. I’ll bring him there after.”

Before Jongin can even put his foot down, they’re rushing into the elevator and Jongin watches as the door closes in front of him.

“Why are they being so secretive?” he asks himself with a pout. “It’s not like there’s anything he would say that he couldn’t in front of me.” With a sigh, he makes his way up the stairs to their usual practice room.

Junmyeon, Sehun, and Jongdae are already there, stretching as their newest track plays in the background.

“You’re early,” Sehun greets, bumping shoulders with him. “I thought you asked for another half day.”

“They rejected my request,” Jongin sighs, taking off his outer jacket. “Kyungsoo’s here too. They’re asking him questions upstairs.”

If Junmyeon stiffens at the mention of Kyungsoo and looks away, Jongin pretends he’s too busy getting a cup of water to notice.

“You’re really protective of him,” Sehun notes with a raised eyebrow. “You know _you’re_ not the one engaged to him, right?”

Jongin frowns, unhappy with the implication of Sehun’s tone. “He’s my friend. I don’t need to be dating him to be concerned about him.”

The expression on Sehun’s face implies he has a lot more to say about this matter, but lucky for Jongin, Jongdae ushers the younger man away and distracts him by asking about a dance move for their choreography. Thank goodness for Jongdae.

The rest of the members arrive half an hour later for them to practice the new choreography. It looks awkward with a gap everywhere Kyungsoo is supposed to be, but they’ve made it work before with missing members and they’ll make it work now.

Even though he’s busy with the choreography and helping the other members, Jongin still finds himself glancing at the clock more often than usual. He worries his lower lip with every half hour that goes by without Kyungsoo back.

When they call break two hours in, Jongin is about to text his manager to ask where they were when the door opens and in walks Kyungsoo with his head down. He bows at everyone, while the half the members greet him with a smile and a few others with hesitant looks.

“I’m going to bring Kyungsoo back to the dorm,” their manager tell everyone, but his eyes are focused on Jongin.

Jongin wants to say he’ll come too, or insist Kyungsoo stay, but neither of those options are possible. So instead he just gives Kyungsoo a halfhearted wave and a smile before the two leave as fast as they came.

“You know, you’re not even this way with our Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun says, arms crossed as he looks at Jongin up and down. “What’s up?”

“Not this again,” Jongin groans, stretching. “I’m just being a good friend!”

“Are you implying I’m not a good friend if I don’t worry about Kyungsoo’s whereabouts every second of the day?”

Jongin rolls his eyes at the dramatic reply. “No, it’s just— he trusts me. So I feel more responsible for him, is all.” Jongin covers his face with his hands, embarrassed to say it out loud. He knows he shouldn’t worry, because it’s not like Kyungsoo is a kid, but he can’t help it. If the roles were reversed, Jongin would hope that the Jongin of Earth-88 would take care of their Kyungsoo too.

Baekhyun purses his lips as if he doesn’t believe he’s getting the full story, but decides not to push it. “Alright. I was just worried you were beginning to think you were engaged to him too.”

Jongin allows himself a short laugh. “You don’t need to remind me. I know.”

 

 

• 

 

 

After managing to sneak away early from acting lessons by tuning into his instructor’s desire to go home and see his newborn daughter, Jongin finds his way back to the kitchen table and drinking tea with a freshly showered Kyungsoo. It’s half past 10, and only Jongdae is home. It’s quiet, aside from the music playing in his room.

Jongin focuses on the mug in his hand as he finds the courage to ask the question he’s been wondering about since he learned Kyungsoo was (1) from another Earth, and (2) engaged to Jongin on that Earth. He swallows then breathes in. It’s now or never.

"On your Earth, in public do you hold hands with me— I mean, Jongin?"

Kyungsoo glances over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Sometimes. If it's too crowded and we don't think anyone will notice, or if we're on the bus sitting in the back."

Jongin nods, humming as he stares out the window and mulls that over. He remembers playing with Kyungsoo's fingers in between shoots, when everyone is too busy running around getting things done to notice two young men smiling at each other.

"So it's not that different after all," Jongin says, looking over at Kyungsoo, whose expression softens at the gaze as if he understands exactly what Jongin means.

"No. It's not."

Jongin lets out a humorless laugh through his nose. "When you said he's your fiancé, I thought that maybe..." he trails off, but Kyungsoo's nod says he doesn't need any more clarification.

"We're going to Taiwan to get married." Kyungsoo is playing with the gold ring on his finger, smiling at it with fondness in his eyes. "It's going to be small, just his family and maybe my brother. Oh, and our friends, of course."

Jongin nods, but he doesn't say anything. He just continues to stare just a little past Kyungsoo’s head, eyes focusing on nothing in particular. Kyungsoo doesn't need any further acknowledgement though; he continues without prompting.

"We planned it all out before I proposed. We were torn between America and Taiwan, but Taiwan is closer and we're on a budget. Plus, we have friends we could stay with if we go to Taiwan. We looked at tuxes and even created a Pinterest board for it." Kyungsoo laughs. "And for a while, that's all it was. This dream that we sort-of had planned, but weren't really thinking about. He's busy at work, and I had a busy schedule too for a while. Until one day, when I'm walking home from the bus stop, I see a jewelry store and it just clicks. It was time."

Jongin snorts at that. "That's hardly romantic."

Kyungsoo kicks his shin with a light tap. "Not all epiphanies are romantic. Besides, I made sure the proposal was perfect. We went on a date to the movies, and then I took him out to dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant. I had Baekhyun and Jongdae help set up everything back at our apartment. He cried."

"Pft."

"Jealous?"

Jongin frowns. Why would he be jealous? "No. I just don't think I'd cry if someone proposed to me."

Kyungsoo tilts his head. "That's because you haven't found the one."

"I've dated before." Jongin's known love through different faces. He's felt the rush of falling in and out with people he thought could be his future, but ended up only being a chapter of his life.

"That's not what I said. I said you haven't found the one. That's different from just dating."

It's probably because he's talking to a Kyungsoo from another Earth, an Earth where he's dating Jongin, and that's what's messing up his thought process, but an image of Kyungsoo laughing so hard at his joke that he falls off his chair flashes through his mind. He can feel again the surge of warmth in his chest when he saw the pure happiness that the older man emitted because of him. It had been so long since he had seen Kyungsoo laugh without any filters or restrictions.

Maybe it's because Jongin knows now, that in some other universe, he's found love in Kyungsoo, that he starts to wonder if that can happen in this universe too.

“I was thinking earlier today, about why this whole thing may have happened,” Kyungsoo starts out of nowhere. Jongin blinks, waiting for an elaboration. “Is there something you need to tell Kyungsoo that you haven’t told him yet?”

Jongin frowns. “Yeah.” It’s the reason they were supposed to meet that day when this Kyungsoo showed up instead. "Why?"

Kyungsoo hums, nodding his head. “I think the universe is trying to tell you or him or _both_ of you something.”

That sounds like an accusation, and Jongin isn’t sure how he feels about that. “Why us? Why not you and your Jongin?”

“Because we’re a happy couple,” Kyungsoo says matter-of-factly. “These things don’t happen when people are happy. Don’t you watch any movies?” His head is tilted to the side, a cheeky grin on those plush lips of his. Jongin blinks once, twice, but he can’t look away.

As Kyungsoo brings his mug up to his lips, smiling as he takes a sip, Jongin finds himself reaching forward. His hands move on their own accord, cupping cheeks that are reddening now.

“Jongin…” Kyungsoo says, voice low in a quiet warning.

But Jongin doesn’t hear it. He can’t hear it, because he’s not here right now. He’s back at their old dorm, their first dorm that they spent short nights in after long days of practice. He’s back at the kitchen table, a much rattier and worn down one, sitting across from Kyungsoo who’s drinking the coffee they bought from the café down the street on their way back.

“I can’t remember the last time we got to do this,” Kyungsoo hummed, warming his hands on the coffee cup. “I rarely get to see you these days.”

“They have me filming every day,” Jongin sighed, leaned back in his chair with an ice pack on his knee. “But they told me my teaser drops next month.”

“Wow, we’re going to have so many fans because of you,” Kyungsoo teased, eyes crinkling into a smile. “Thank you for your hard work, Kai.”

“Stop it,” Jongin whined, but he was smiling too.

“I’m just speaking the truth,” Kyungsoo said, bopping his head to the side. “People love a pretty face. They’ll eat your teasers up right away. Like remember that movie we saw the other day with that really pretty actress who just couldn’t act, but the movie did super well in the box office.”

Jongin was only half-listening now though. Instead, he was focused on watching as Kyungsoo continued drinking his coffee, smiling at Jongin over the rim of the cup. He pulls the cup away, and Jongin's eye catches the thin line of foam above his lips. “You have something there.” He motioned to the area.

“Did I get it?” Kyungsoo asked, licking his upper lip. Close, but not quite. After a few more failed attempted tries, Jongin just stood up and leaned over the table, cupping his chin and swiping a finger across the foam. It wasn’t until his eyes met Kyungsoo’s widened one that he realized what he had done and the lack of space now left between them.

Jongin didn’t know how much time passed. He noticed his heart racing in his chest, the dryness of his mouth, and the shortness of breath. But he couldn’t do anything about it. He was frozen.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do next. He can’t remember if Kyungsoo had leaned into his touch, lips parting allowing a sneak peek of a tongue to stick out. And if he could remember, he wouldn’t know how to make sense of that anyway. Just like he still can’t make sense of the look in Kyungsoo’s eyes that are dark enough that Jongin could see his reflection in them.

But something pulled him away that night. Maybe it was the ache of his knee from too many retakes of his dance at the shoot earlier, or maybe it was Jongin’s body’s fight-or-flight reaction from the adrenaline.

It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Jongin pulled away, cleared his throat, and turned his back. He muttered a quick, “I’m going to go shower now,” before scurrying off to the bathroom, never looking back once.

It was one of what Jongin now realizes was a series of events that played out like that: their faces would somehow gravitate a little too close, Jongin’s breath would quicken, and then he would pull away right before as he felt faint. It had happened that night in bed two months ago, at a fan event three months before when Jongin dropped his pen and they both reached down to grab it at the same time, while at practice when they both laughed a little too hard at Chanyeol’s dancing and ended up colliding foreheads.

Jongin can’t count the number of times it’s happened in the past almost decade he’s now known Kyungsoo.

Staring at this Kyungsoo now, he doesn’t want to add another time to that list.

“Jongin,” Kyungsoo repeats, this time his voice firmer. He hasn’t moved away from Jongin’s touch, but there’s stiffness in his jaw.

“Can I…” He licks his lips.

“What is it?” Kyungsoo asks, an edge to his voice.

Jongin leans in, and Kyungsoo flinches as their foreheads touch. Jongin can feel his warm breath fan his face. He wants more. “Can I. Kiss you?”

Kyungsoo finally breaks away, pushing Jongin back into his seat. He’s frowning, but there’s no malice in his eyes. No, there’s something else, something that is somehow much worse than malice to Jongin.

Pity.

“You really are just like him,” Kyungsoo whispers, shaking his head. “I should’ve guessed.”

“What…” Jongin trails off, afraid that if he speaks any more his voice will crack. He’s not sure which stings worse: the pity or the rejection. His eyes are focused on the table, where his hands rest, unsure of where to go.

“It makes sense. For you to love him, the way that my Jongin loves me.”

Jongin frowns, but he doesn’t say anything. Love. Is this feeling love? The pain in his chest, the swirling in his stomach, and the lump in his throat — are these really love? How can they be, when they hurt?

Kyungsoo’s gaze softens. “You said earlier, that you have something to tell him. What is it?”

Jongin doesn't understand why that matters so much. “It’s nothing,” he grumbles, crossing his arms before letting them fall to his side again. “I was just going to tell him about a role I got.” In an upcoming movie, he thinks but doesn't say.

He was so excited to be cast alongside big names, and so ready to tell Kyungsoo, but he wanted to do it in person. He wanted to see the look on Kyungsoo’s face, feel the warmth of pride when Kyungsoo would inevitably pull him into a big hug and tell him he’s happy for him.

But he hadn’t been able to get a hold of Kyungsoo for a week, until they finally planned to meet earlier this week.

To be honest, Jongin’s not even sure if it’s still a surprise. What if their manager told Kyungsoo in passing? Or one of Kyungsoo’s actor friends heard the news and told him first? Jongin clenches and unclenches his fist.

“That doesn’t sound like nothing,” Kyungsoo says.

“It’s just a role. I’ve told him about other roles I’ve gotten before.”

“But this time it’s different. It has to be, for the universe to go to such extreme lengths for a message to be delivered.”

Jongin wants to laugh-cry. “Why do you keep insisting the universe is conspiring against us?”

“Because it’s the only reason that makes sense!” Kyungsoo exclaims, getting up out of his chair only to fall back into his seat when he realizes he overreacted. He frowns, takes another sip of his tea, then speaks again.

“I believe things happen for a reason. And until you figure out that reason, I can’t go home.” Kyungsoo pauses, horror entering his features for a brief second at the mere thought. “I need to go home, Jongin. I need to return to him.”

“I know.” Jongin’s frown deepens. “But I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Tell me the _truth_.”

Jongin can only stare. He has been telling the truth, or he thinks he has. But the way Kyungsoo is looking at him, eyes expectant, tells him he’s missing a large piece of the puzzle.

“I can’t—” Jongin feels his throat tighten and his eyes sting. “Kyungsoo, I’m already telling the truth.”

There’s a pause. Kyungsoo just stares.

“Do you really not know?” His voice is free of judgment. He just sounds… sad.

“Know what?” Jongin asks, pleading. He wants to know. Knowing may be the key to getting rid of the ache in his chest.

Kyungsoo is quiet, eyes focused on something else. “Jongin, do you remember the day we met? How I kissed you and you froze?”

“Yeah.” How could he forget?

“You didn’t push me away. Why?” Jongin only stares, so Kyungsoo continues. “You didn’t know I wasn’t him, but you still let me kiss you. Why?”

Jongin answers helplessly, “I don’t know.”

Kyungsoo sighs. “You do know, you just don’t want to admit it, which I don’t get because you’ve got nothing to lose. He’s not even here.”

Jongin wants to argue that he is. Kyungsoo is always here, where ever Jongin is, occupying a spot in his mind dedicated to his best friend. How would Kyungsoo react if he found out Jongin wanted more than what they already have? How would the world react if they found out? His mind races, terrified of these thoughts until they stop. Jongin catches a glimpse of the ring on Kyungsoo's left hand.

He realizes the world isn’t the audience right now. It’s only a figure of Kyungsoo.

“I want…” Round eyes, heart shaped lips, narrow shoulders. Eyes that smile when Jongin’s in the room, lips that sing melodies that run chills down his spine, shoulders that carry the weight of his head when he’s tired.

There's a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s okay to say it, Jongin.”

He remembers the feeling of being needed when he sat beside Kyungsoo earlier today, when Kyungsoo thanked him for coming. He can’t remember the last time his Kyungsoo had looked at him as if he needed him too. Jongin takes a sharp breath as the picture comes into view.

Jongin finally looks up from the table, eyes glistening as they meet the ones in front of him.

“I want him,” he chokes out. “I want him to only look at me.” His body betrays him as he's overcome with too many emotions for him to process. Grief over a love he is missing out on, fear over a love he may never have, regret that he took too long to realize his feelings.

“It’s okay,” Kyungsoo whispers in his ears, already up from his chair and standing by Jongin’s side, arms wrapped around him. “It’s okay.”

They move to the bedroom, afraid that the other members will come home any minute now and question why Jongin is sobbing in the middle of the kitchen. Kyungsoo brings him a new cup of tea, but his nose is running too much and he can’t enjoy it because every sip tastes salty.

“You’re okay,” Kyungsoo says as he lays Jongin down into the bed. “Let it all out.” Jongin can only sniffle before he takes another sharp breath in between sobs. He watches as Kyungsoo comes in and out of the room, before finally entering one last time, turning off the light and laying on the floor beside him.

“I’m proud of you,” is the last thing he hears before his eyes shut for the night.

 

• 

 

 

When Jongin wakes up, he's alone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is coming to an end wowwww this was another difficult chapter to write, but it's here, even more emotional than the last. The next two chapters will be uploaded together hopefully by Thursday night, but if not then by Saturday the latest! Can you believe I wrote this fic basically in a week (sans chapter one which took the longest to draft)?! Because I can’t!!!! It’s so much writing ahh but so rewarding to see it come together ah <3
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


	6. Days Six, Seven, & Eight

Jongin learns from Junmyeon that Kyungsoo woke up at five in the morning, called their manager, and headed straight to the SM building. He didn’t answer his countless phone calls and text messages sent before because his phone was turned off, as they rushed him into the studio to finish recording.

When Jongin arrives at SM with the rest of the members, his stomach whirls with different emotions: excitement, relief, and most prominently anxiety. Anxiety over his talk last night with Kyungsoo, anxiety over his now puffy eyes and the concerned looks of members who don’t exactly ask what’s wrong but their gazes say it all, and anxiety over how Kyungsoo is now that he’s actually back.

Is Kyungsoo okay? Did he hate it over at Earth-88? Or did he enjoy it? Jongin’s not sure how he would feel if it’s the latter, his stomach swirling as he remembers all of his conversation last night. His newfound acknowledgement of his feelings for who he considered one of his best friends makes this life so much more difficult.

To his relief, Kyungsoo isn’t there when they walk into the practice room. Jongin distracts himself with morning stretches before their manager comes in and gives him a pair of sunglasses. “Protect your image,” he muttered when Jongin thanked him multiple times. In his hurry to get out of the dorm, he forgot how swollen his face looks.

It’s only Sehun, Minseok, and Jongin today in the practice room. Most of the members, besides Kyungsoo, already have the choreography down. These three are only here because they have solo dance shots in the music video, and thus their instructor wanted to meet with them more to make sure they had it down perfectly before filming begins.

Minseok is running through the moves with Sehun when Kyungsoo walks in, followed by another one of their managers and a few others Jongin doesn’t recognize. They wait by the door as Kyungsoo and the manager approaches the instructor, who talks to him for a few minutes before gesturing over to Jongin.

Jongin swallows. He knows what’s about to happen.

“You’ll need to help Kyungsoo with the choreo,” his instructor tells him after waving him over. “He remembers most of it, but it’s been a while and he hasn’t gotten the same amount of practice as the rest of the members. Just go over the general choreo stuff, I’ll make sure he gets his own parts down later after I help Minseok and Sehun.”

All Jongin can do is nod.

“Hi,” Kyungsoo is the first to speak.

Jongin stares at the familiar short, black hair. The bags under his eyes are not as bad as they were before, but they’re definitely more noticeable than the other Kyungsoo’s. He wants to reach out and smooth his fingers over them.

“Hi,” Jongin parrots. “How…” he hesitates. Maybe Kyungsoo doesn’t want to talk about it. But upon only being met with a raised eyebrow, he continues, “How was it?”

“I already told them about it,” Kyungsoo sighs, gesturing to the men standing by the door still, arms crossed and eyes focused on Kyungsoo. “But it was fine. A lot less different than you’d imagine.”

Fine. Fine is good, Jongin thinks.

“Did you have fun?” It’s a stupid question that Jongin regrets as soon as he says them. Kyungsoo is probably stressed, having missed so much of his schedule, and he probably just wants to get straight to practice but Jongin is wasting his time with stupid questions. “You don’t have to answer that,” he cuts himself off with a frown.

“I wouldn’t say I had fun,” Kyungsoo says, ignoring Jongin’s self-doubt. He’s taking his time stretching, Jongin notices. “But it was interesting. Like I went on a vacation I didn’t know I needed.”

Jongin isn’t sure how to process that.

“It gave me a lot to think about,” Kyungsoo continues without prompting. He’s still not looking at Jongin, but rather beyond him.

Jongin’s mouth feels dry, but he still manages to ask, “Like what?”

Kyungsoo tilts his head, but doesn’t answer. Instead, he begins the choreography to the chorus.

Thinking that Kyungsoo just didn’t hear him or doesn’t want to talk about it, Jongin just watches him dance. He’s patient, allowing Kyungsoo to make mistakes and only correcting them once he’s finished watching. Kyungsoo corrects each error diligently afterwards, practicing the same move the right away five times after to ensure he’s got it down.

When they’re done working on all the moves Jongin can help with, they wait by the side for their instructor to finish what he’s doing with Minseok and Sehun. Jongin is gulping down water, hoping the action saves him from having to figure out what to talk to Kyungsoo about. He doesn’t want to make Kyungsoo uncomfortable on his first day back.

But Kyungsoo saves him the trouble by speaking first.

“I remember the first time I saw you dance,” Kyungsoo begins, eyes focused past Jongin again but now he understands what he’s doing. Kyungsoo is watching their reflections in the mirror. “I never told you, but you’re the reason I’m here.”

Jongin’s lips part, but no words come out.

“Sorry, that sounds dramatic. I just mean that on the day I was going to cut my hours back, I saw you dancing.” Kyungsoo clarifies.

“O-Oh. My dancing?” Jongin asks for lack of a better response. He’s not sure where any of this is coming from, and Kyungsoo still won’t look for him even though Jongin’s sure his own look is begging to be noticed.

Kyungsoo’s eyebrows furrow, but Jongin only sees them from the side. “Yeah, but it was more than just your dancing. It was the look on your face. I had never seen something so—”

His words are cut off when Chanyeol and Baekhyun enter the room, Baekhyun slapping Chanyeol over the shoulder and Chanyeol complaining in protest. Their focus zooms in on Kyungsoo in the corner before they run over, tackling a reluctant Kyungsoo to the ground with mock punches and a dozen questions.

Jongin’s not sure if he heard the last word right. He’s scared of getting his hopes up, because he may have heard Kyungsoo say _beautiful._

He can’t ask though, because the instructor whisks Kyungsoo away soon after. And as soon as they’re done, their manager takes Kyungsoo to his next schedule, whatever that may be. Jongin doesn’t know, and he doesn’t see Kyungsoo the rest of the day either.

Back to the same old, same old, Jongin supposes as he eats his late lunch. But he swears it didn’t always use to hurt like this.

When Jongin goes to bed later that night, he finds himself tossing and turning. He expects to see Kyungsoo every time he opened his eyes, and despite knowing better, is disappointed every time he’s met with a dark, empty room.

 

   
•

 

 

Today is the filming of the music video. Already behind schedule due to Kyungsoo’s disappearance, they rush to film everything in one day so they have enough time to have the video edited and properly distributed by the promised deadline.

Jongin only catches glimpses of Kyungsoo throughout the day. Usually when Jongin is leaving the dressing room, Kyungsoo is coming back in, stylist already stripping him of one jacket to throw on the next outfit. They share passing glances and hesitant smiles.

During the group shoots, Jongin and Kyungsoo are positioned near each other. This is nothing unusual, and for any other shoot, Jongin would’ve played with the collar of Kyungsoo’s shirt or poked at his knees for fun as they talked in between shots.

But today his hands stay by his sides. It’s even difficult for him to move his eyes, hesitant that Kyungsoo will catch him staring and put everything together.

Kyungsoo notices anyway. Jongin can feel his eyes on him, and notices the way his hand reaches out only to hesitate as soon as they’re close enough to feel the warmth emanating from each other. Jongin feels like his heart is going to escape from his chest.

Finally Kyungsoo’s hand lands on Jongin’s knee and gives it a light squeeze. When Jongin looks over, he’s greeted with a soft smile and a, “How’re you doing?” Jongin should’ve known that Kyungsoo never fails to check up on him at least once during each shoot.

“‘M fine,” Jongin mumbles, looking down to stare at Kyungsoo’s still present hand. He wonders what it would feel like to reach out and grab them, to hold them.

Kyungsoo nods, letting his hands fall to his side, and Jongin fights against the abyss that grows in his chest.

The rest of the shoot goes without incidents. They’re wrapping up now, Kyungsoo and Jongin in the same dresser with their stylists taking a break as the director goes through the shots so far, until the stylists are called out for a final meeting and it’s just the two of them.

Jongin can’t help his eyes from wandering over to the man beside him on his cell phone. Kyungsoo’s features are highlighted by the bright lights. He looks other-worldly, like he belongs on not just another earth, but another planet.

Something in Jongin’s chest aches, but it doesn’t feel like the abyss from before. It feels different. His aching muscles want to move, they want to embrace the person sitting right next to him. They want to hug and be hugged back. Jongin doesn’t know what he’s doing, but suddenly he’s standing up from his chair. He licks his lips.

So that’s how it feels like: that unromantic urge to do something romantic. Jongin wonders if this is how Kyungsoo of the other earth felt when he proposed to his Jongin. He feels out of control, like someone else is dictating his action, but at the same time, he’s also never felt so _in control_ of his actions before. Like a barrier has been removed, he feels brave now.

Kyungsoo is just beginning to notice Jongin’s new position, eyebrows raised as he turns his head to look at Jongin. He opens his mouth to speak, but Jongin cuts him off with an urgency that takes over him.

“If I kissed you, what would you do?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen, his phone falling into his lap. “What?”

Jongin clenches his fist a little harder. “If I kissed you,” he says, this time slower, “what would you do?” He takes a step closer.

Kyungsoo picks up his phone, but his hands are shaking. He’s frowning, but there’s something else there in his expression. Jongin hopes he’s not reading it wrong. “Stop joking around, Jongin.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not.”

Jongin watches Kyungsoo’s adam’s apple bob as he swallows. “You can’t,” he says, but it’s barely above a whisper.

“Is that a rejection?” Jongin has never felt so unassured. Not even their debut stage made him feel so nervous.

“No— I mean, yes! I mean, I don’t know.” He’s never seen Kyungsoo look so torn before, eyebrows furrowed and eyes trained on him. The man who approached Jongin and asked him out to coffee just days after they met was confident. The man who took on his first acting assignment with fervor and excitement was self-assured. The man who smiled at the crowds with a wave was poised.

The man standing in front of him with restless hands and lips chapped from endless worrying is none of those things.

“It’s okay to not know,” Jongin finally says with a sigh, taking a step back and falling into the seat beside Kyungsoo again. He feels stupid, not even wanting to peek at his reflection and see how pathetic he may look right now. “You don’t have to answer me.”

A moment passes.

Kyungsoo clears his throat, but when Jongin turns to look at him, he’s not meeting his gaze. “Let’s say I do want to kiss you. Then what?”

Jongin’s heart skips. Does this mean…?

“Then I’d kiss you,” he answers, words more confident than how he feels.

But it’s not a good enough answer, because Kyungsoo hesitates. “And then?”

Jongin searches Kyungsoo’s face for a sign of what he may want, but he’s met with a wall. Was that always there?

“And then we go and meet everyone else for dinner?” Jongin guesses helplessly.

He knows it’s the wrong answer when Kyungsoo sighs and turns away in his seat. “This is why I can’t kiss you,” is all he says before getting out of his seat and leaving the dressing room.

Jongin watches, wanting to call him back or at least follow him, but the stylists return as soon as Kyungsoo exits. One of them follows Kyungsoo, asking him to come back, but Jongin doesn’t hear the rest of that conversation because he’s flocked by his own stylists.

“They want to reshoot your dance scene,” the stylist says, and Jongin can tell she’s not happy because that was a completely different make-up look from the one he has on now. They get straight to work on his hair and make-up, but Jongin’s mind never strays from the conversation he just had with Kyungsoo.

What did he mean by ‘this is why I can’t kiss you’? Jongin wracks his brain trying to think of what was wrong with his answer. Was it not romantic enough? Did Kyungsoo want an actual date afterwards?

But if he did, he would’ve just said so. Kyungsoo isn’t the type to play around. He gets down to business and when he wants something, he goes after it.

Jongin wavers. Does that mean Kyungsoo doesn’t want him? Was he misinterpreting the looks? The touches? He is so sure he saw yearning in Kyungsoo’s gaze mirrored back at him. After years of knowing the man, he wants to think that he knows Kyungsoo well enough to know if that was rejection. And that was definitely not rejection, or at least not totally.

When they get back to their dorms for the night, Jongin makes a pit stop to the fifth floor. He knows Kyungsoo won’t be there, that he probably is so busy catching up that he won’t be back until 2am or later, but that doesn’t stop him from hoping.

To his surprise, Kyungsoo actually is in the dorm though. He’s sprawled across his bed when Jongin knocks and peeks in, fast asleep under his blanket. Jongin tiptoes in, adjusts his blanket, and sneaks back out.

He rests easier tonight.

 

 

•

 

 

It’s no surprise to Jongin when he wakes up and is hauled out of the dorm and to SM by their manager. Kyungsoo isn’t in the van, to Jongin’s disappointment, but Jongin can’t dwell on it longer because he’s pushed into his first class of the day, singing lessons.

When Jongin does catch glimpses of Kyungsoo throughout the day, most often when one of them passes a room the other’s in, Kyungsoo averts his eyes each time. He frowns and his gut twists, but he tells himself it’s okay. Tonight is the night.

He recalls his conversation three nights ago with the other Kyungsoo. Confessing then was difficult, but confessing now to the actual Kyungsoo is different. Back then, he didn’t know how to make sense of his feelings, but he has the words to define those feelings now.

And he doesn’t want the words to escape him. Not again, not ever, if he can help it.

When Kyungsoo and the rest of the members reconvene to go through last minute recording and finishing touches, Jongin gravitates towards the older man. He hesitates the first time he places a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, but when he’s not shrugged off, he lets his light touch turn into a gentle squeeze.

So far, so good.

It’s a little past 8, and most of the members are heading home now. With the new music video set to drop in about a week, they’re given a break. 

“I want to stay and practice a bit more,” Kyungsoo volunteers. The manager shrugs in response and allows it.

Jongin is quick to speak next. “I’ll stay too!” If he sounds too enthusiastic, no one says anything. Kyungsoo looks at Jongin with an uneasy gaze, but he too stays quiet.

He waits for the members to file out, each of them grumbling about being hungry or tired. As soon as the door closes with a click, he looks over to Kyungsoo who’s made his way to the opposite end of the practice room.

“Want help?” Jongin offers, not moving yet. He doesn’t want to scare him away.

“I’m fine for now, thanks,” Kyungsoo replies quietly, before turning on the music.

Jongin doesn’t push it. He stays true to what he said to their manager and begins practicing too, even though he’s likely gone through this choreography over hundreds of times by now. His eyes stray towards Kyungsoo once or twice, smiling every time they lock eyes. Kyungsoo doesn’t respond.

An hour later and Kyungsoo is taking his first break. Jongin makes his way over to the panting man, handing him his water bottle.

Kyungsoo eyes it warily, but takes it. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kyungsoo takes a large swig of water. Jongin doesn’t even try to pretend like he isn’t staring.

“Is there something you want?” Kyungsoo asks when he’s done rehydrating, a downcurve to his lips. “You keep looking at me.”

“I told you what I wanted,” Jongin says, a frown of his own on his lips now. Is Kyungsoo really going to pretend like their conversation yesterday didn’t happen?

“Oh. I thought I dreamt that.” Kyungsoo dabs at the sweat on his face, eyes downcast now. 

“What did you want me to say yesterday?” Jongin pushes on, despite the unease in his chest. “When you kept asking me…”

Kyungsoo sighs. “It’s nothing. I’m not mad at you or anything, so don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t help but be worried though,” Jongin protests, taking a seat beside Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo flinches when their arms touch. “Kyungsoo, I want to kiss you.”

“Stop that,” is the immediate reply. Jongin is surprised by the anger in his words. “You don’t know what your words mean.”

“Maybe I’d know what they meant to you if you just told me what you were thinking instead of dancing around me.” He still speaks gently. He only wants answers, not a fight.

When Kyungsoo still doesn’t speak, head angled away from Jongin, the younger continues. 

“You haven’t told me much about, you know, the last few days. You were in a completely different world, but all you’ve told me was that it was fine.” Jongin picks at his hangnail. “Why was it fine?”

Still no answer.

“I can tell you about him,” Jongin offers. “The other you, I guess you could call him. He’s nice like you, and he can cook well like you. But for the record, I still like your food better.”

Not even a chuckle.

“He likes scary movies. He told me he’s the one who proposed to Jongin, and honestly it was a pretty boring story but I still liked it. Probably because he has your voice.”

There it is: a tilt of his head. It’s a start.

“I missed you. I know he’s basically you, but I missed the real you. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about our coffee date. Even if you were transported to another earth for a few days, I’m still holding you to your end of the deal. I want that coffee you promised me.”

A long sigh.

“I wanted to tell you about a movie role.”

Finally, Kyungsoo turns around completely. “A new role? Congratulations.” Jongin has heard that so many times before from him, but this time feels different. It’s more meaningful. “I’ll buy you a celebratory coffee, on me.”

“And will you tell me everything over coffee?” Jongin pushes. It’s now or never.

“Jongin…”

“Kyungsoo. You know how I feel, so why can’t you tell me how you feel?”

Kyungsoo bites on his lower lip. “Because it doesn’t matter. Even if I tell you, it wouldn’t matter.”

Jongin frowns. He wants nothing more than to reach out and stop Kyungsoo from making himself bleed. “Isn’t that for me to decide?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “No, that’s for everyone to decide. If we— If I decide to down this path, there is no way out. If we don’t work out, they’ll still remember us as…”

“As what? Gay?” Jongin puts it bluntly. It’s not like he hasn’t thought of this either, but he just never thought of it as a main concern. Having already been in one dating “scandal” taught him that people are going to judge him no matter what he does, if he’s with a girl or if he’s with another boy. He may as well be happy as they judge him.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo sighs, dropping his head. “All of our hard work — all of  _ your  _ hard work — will go down the drain as soon as they find out. They won’t care about the good we’ve done, they’ll hate us.” Kyungsoo’s voice wavers on the last few words. “I can’t do that to you.”

Jongin can’t help himself. Screw playing it safe, he feels braver now than ever before. He puts his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and faces him, eyes locked with nowhere to go.

“Kyungsoo, if they hate us, that sucks but that’s their problem. We can’t control what they think. What we can control is what we do about this, our feelings.”

“You sound like him,” Kyungsoo manages with a whisper. Jongin can see his walls begin to crumble. 

“Let’s do this, Kyungsoo,” Jongin pushes, leaning in so their foreheads touch. Kyungsoo licks his lips again, and Jongin follows the motion. “Please. Because I really, really want to kiss you, and I just realized that I’ve been wanting this for a long time.”

“Are you sure?” Kyungsoo asks. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yes.” Jongin has never been so sure. “But is this what  _ you _ want?”

Kyungsoo pulls away, and Jongin feels a rush of doubt and fear overcome him until what follows next. He reaches and grabs Jongin’s hand from his shoulder, resting it on his lap instead. He looks up at him, and Jongin knows with 100% confidence now that he’s not seeing things, or being hopeful. The look in Kyungsoo’s eyes is honest, and Jongin recognizes them from eight days ago, when a red-haired Kyungsoo kissed him and called him his fiancé.

“Yes. This is what I want.”

Jongin has never heard more hopeful words until now. 

And when Kyungsoo’s lips meet his, he can see universes full of possibilities.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. im so sorry this is late!!!!!!!!! i had my commencement and graduation ceremonies this weekend and def didn’t have as much time to myself as i anticipated so !! i’m sorry!!
> 
> 2\. THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE i rlly did the least amount of prep for this chapter because i knew it would be the hardest to write (canon universe is so hard) and so WOW this was a pain trying to balance a sense of keeping it realistic while also giving them the ending i thought they deserved after the past few chapters. Honestly I was originally going to keep the ending a LOT more open and less certain, but then I was like I DID NOT WRITE ALMOST 20K WORDS FOR THEM TO NOT GET A DECENT ENDING THEY DESERVE okay no more heartbreak only luv pls
> 
> 3\. THANK YOU FOR READING pls enjoy the epilogue after this!


	7. Epilogue

“Who do you like more? Me or him?”

Kyungsoo throws back his head with a laugh before patting his fiancé’s chest. “Why do you keep asking that? Of course you. It’s not even a competition.” He smiles when a warm hand raises to grab his, and he gets to look at the gold ring on Jongin’s finger yet again. Even after all this time, the image still makes his heart race.

“Just making sure,” Jongin teases, bringing up Kyungsoo’s hand to peck the back of it. “Did you have fun getting to be an idol for a few days?”

“It was wild,” Kyungsoo says, voice deeper than before. The traces of laughter on his face are gone, replaced with a more contemplative look. “I’m glad we avoided that mess.”

Jongin smiles and squeezes his hand. “You don’t have to say that for me. If you had fun, just tell me. I want to know all about your adventure.”

“I’m not saying it for you.” Kyungsoo leans his head back on the couch, propping his leg up onto their coffee table. His eyes roam around their living room, still relieved to see the familiar furniture and pictures on the wall. “I mean it. I’m glad we’re where we are now.”

Jongin moves his other hand to run through Kyungsoo’s hair. “I’m glad you’re back. I missed you,” he says for what is perhaps the tenth time in the past hour, and the gazillionth time this past week since Kyungsoo returned to his correct earth. 

Kyungsoo remembers waking up in familiar sheets and leaping up as soon as he recognized his surroundings, bounding down the halls and crashing into a snoring Jongin on the couch. He remembers peppering kisses all over Jongin’s face as the younger man laughs and pulls him into a hug before whispering, “Welcome back,” into his ear. 

“Do you think they’re doing okay?” Kyungsoo asks as he closes his eyes and savors the feeling of Jongin’s fingers massaging his scalp.

Jongin pauses. “Them?” 

“You know.”

And Jongin does know. He spent the last week telling Kyungsoo all about his parallel self, the talks they had, and the burden he was holding. And he was not exactly surprised to hear Kyungsoo had a similar story about the other Jongin too.

“I think they’ll be fine,” Jongin murmurs, returning to his previous action of running his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair. 

“Do you think so?” Kyungsoo asks, less certain. “The last time I saw Jongin, he wasn’t taking the news very well.”

“You did coerce him into admitting a truth he didn’t even know about himself yet.” Jongin smiles when Kyungsoo opens one eye to look at him and pout.

“I couldn’t sit by and let that poor boy wallow any longer.” Kyungsoo sits up straighter now, and Jongin lets his hand drop to curl around his waist.

“Why does that sound so familiar?” he teases, pulling in Kyungsoo for a peck on the cheek.

Kyungsoo pretends to struggle against his fiancé, but his smile when Jongin’s lips meet his cheek give him away. He playfully grabs Jongin’s cheeks and squeezes them, chuckling at the fish-like expression he gets.

“You are my favorite,” Kyungsoo tells him, overwhelmed with affection for the man in front of him. Jongin beams at the familiar words that they’ve shared between each other from their trainee days to now. These words never fail to make him smile, a reminder of how their love has grown through the days and years. 

Being Kyungsoo’s favorite used to mean he was his favorite member during trainee days. After that, it meant he was his favorite roommate. Then he was his favorite friend, his best friend, until we fast forward a few months later when Jongin became his favorite person, his partner. And now his favorite partner, his fiancé. 

“I love you,” Jongin whispers, pulling Kyungsoo’s face closer until their foreheads touch. 

Kyungsoo reaches a hand out and cups his cheek. “I love you, too. Let’s get married.”

Jongin chuckles, warm breath fanning across Kyungsoo’s face. He wants to kiss him. “Soon.”

“I don’t want to wait,” Kyungsoo whines. “Let’s get married now. I’ll just cancel our flight and Baekhyun and Jongdae can come over and my brother can officiate here in our living room.”

“It wouldn’t be recognized by the government,” Jongin reminds him, voice light because he knows Kyungsoo is joking. “Besides, we already paid our deposit for the hotel in Taipei.”

Kyungsoo sighs dramatically, pulling away from Jongin to stand up. “Fine. But I call window seat.”

Jongin grins, following after his fiancé as he walks to the door. He grabs their two suitcases waiting by the kitchen. “It’ll cost you five kisses.”

“Three,” Kyungsoo bargains.

“Four, and the promise that you’ll let me sleep on your shoulder.”

“No, your head gets heavy after a while,” Kyungsoo sighs, opening the door for his fiancé.

“Tough. This heavy head is going to be married to you in less than three days,” Jongin sings as he walks out the door, rolling the suitcases behind him.

“You’re lucky I love you,” Kyungsoo says as he closes the door behind him, locking it. 

“I know,” Jongin replies, pausing to let Kyungsoo catch up to him. When he finally does, and Jongin still doesn’t move, he’s about to ask why when Jongin swoops in and steals a kiss from his lips.

Kyungsoo’s face softens into a smile.

“Let’s go get married.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These past two chapters (or all of them tbh) are *whispers* un-betaed. But this chapter especially is ~raw~ and honestly I don't have it in me to read over it rn, but I will try to get that done by tomorrow!
> 
> I figured we should end on a solid happy note with my presh Earth-88 bbs. And with their happily ever after, we wrap up this fic! Thank you again for reading and commenting if you did. It was a joy writing this and hearing y’all’s feedback for it <3 I hope you all enjoyed it, and again, thank you for taking time out of your day to read my fic!


End file.
